HC Deb 29 April 2004 vol 420 cc1214-5W
Mr. Laurence Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of electricity has been generated from renewable sources in each of the last seven years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [168056]

Mr. Timms

The percentages of electricity derived from renewable sources in the each of the seven years from 1997 to 2003 are as follows:

Percentage
Overall Sources eligible

for Renewable Obligation
1997 2.12 0.78
1998 2.55 0.95
1999 2.76 1.18
2000 2.75 1.32
2001 2.62 1.52
2002 2.96 1.74
2003 (Provisional) 2.9 2.0
Source:
Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2003 and Digests for earlier years.

This overall renewables percentage includes both biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes and large scale hydro. The amount of electricity produced using hydro sources varies from year to year depending on the rainfall. Low precipitation during the winters of 2000–01 and 2002–03 resulted in low hydro output during 2001 and 2003 hence the fall in generation from renewables in those years.

Source eligible for the Renewables Obligation are biofuels (including the co-firing of biomass with fossil fuel), onshore and offshore wind, all new hydro, refurbished hydro up to 20 MW (commissioned before 1990), solar photovoltaics and wave and tidal technologies. As more and more onshore and offshore wind projects are commissioned, we can expect to see substantial growth in the amount of renewables electricity output over the coming years.

Mr. Stunell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates she has made of the expected generation costs per MWh for(a) wind and (b) nuclear technologies in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2020. [169776]

Mr. Timms

The Department has published estimates of the cost of electricity generation from a variety of technologies. These are contained in a report published in February 2002 available at: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/greenhousegas/index.shtml.

The Performance and Innovation Unit at the Cabinet Office also published similar estimates in its 2001 Energy Review. These are available at: www.number-10.gov.uk/su/energy/1.html.

Work undertaken for the Renewables Innovation Review covering wind generation costs is also available at: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/policy/oxeraresults.pdf.