§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if regional funds have been made available in Yorkshire following the insolvency of the ARBRE biomass power station. [81833]
§ Mr. MeacherI understand that Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and Humber, has been actively considering the future of the ARBRE biomass power station with the Renewable Energy Development and Deployment Team at the Department of Trade and Industry and the Energy and Transport Directorate of the European Commission. Yorkshire Forward is examining potential and appropriate funding opportunities while discussions with possible future operators continue.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations her Department has received concerning research into biomass; and what assessment she has made of the value for money of the research funded to date. [81899]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Department receives regular representations on research through meetings, correspondence and applications from industry for LINK research funding. All the Department's agricultural research programmes are subject to formal evaluation on a four-year cycle. The bio-energy programme was last reviewed in 1999, and will be reviewed again in early 2003. At the 1999 review, the value for money of the five programme areas was assessed by external assessors. One programme area was assessed as excellent value for money, three were assessed as good, and one could not be assessed because of the early stage of work at the time. The programme is also subject to on-going evaluation by all Government funders under the Interdepartmental Group on Energy Crop Research, which is chaired by this Department.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the findings of research undertaken by the Government into biomass. [81900]
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§ Mr. MeacherThe purpose of the Department's biomass research and development programme is to provide industry with the basic knowledge to achieve an increase in crop yields, with these higher yielding crops ideally being protected using host resistance and biological techniques rather than conventional pesticides. Research has established that miscanthus is the highest yielding biomass crop in the UK. An industry-supported commercial breeding programme has been set up for short rotation coppice willow. This includes the use of varieties to control fungal diseases and pests. Studies have identified and quantified the environmental impact of bio-energy cropping, including the potential for soil carbon sequestration and the effect on water resources.