§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what meteorological studies her Department has(a) conducted and (b) commissioned on average percentage levels of availability at different points during the year of (i) onshore wind farms, (ii) offshore wind farms and (iii) wave power installations. [R] [147516]
§ Mr. TimmsLast year my Department commissioned a study in order to assist in determining the priority areas for future commercial exploitation of renewable energy.
The study 'Atlas of UK Marine Renewables' will among other things provide a spatial quantification of offshore wind and wave resources and will also consider the temporal variation of the energy parameters. The first results from the study are expected shortly.
Other supported projects which have included meteorological studies include; 'Predicting Offshore Wind Energy Resources (POWER),1 project which developed a novel wind resource assessment methodology which can produce long-term and spatially detailed estimates of the wind conditions at offshore sites and the 'Forecasting Short-Term Wind Farm Production"2 project which developed a method that applies a model to provide site specific forecasts of wind speed and power from one to 36 hour horizons.
Additionally, the Department of Trade and Industry's Wind Speed Database contains estimates of the annual mean wind speed throughout the UK. The database uses the Ordnance Survey grid system each 783W value stored in the database is the estimated average for a lkm square at 10m, 25m or 45m above ground level.
Full reports of both mentioned projects together with the Wind Speed Database can be seen on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk
1Predicting Offshore Wind Energy Resources (POWER)—ETSU W/35/00536/00/REP URN 02/14362Forecasting Short-Term Wind Farm Production—FES W/45/00572/00/00 URN 03/892
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department has taken in the last six months to ensure that the nuclear energy option remains open. [R] [147519]
§ Mr. TimmsSkills and Research and Development are key areas for maintaining nuclear power as an option for the future.
The Government have been assisting in the establishment of a Sector Skills Council to represent the needs of the nuclear industry. Cogent Sector Skills Council is undergoing the development process for licensing early this year. It will aim to ensure that the education and training base meet the nuclear employers current and future needs.
New opportunities for fission research, with funding up to £5 million over four years, were recently announced as part of the Research Council's "Towards a Sustainable Energy Economy" (TSEC) initiative. This funding comes from the £28 million allocated to the Research Councils for sustainable energy research under the 2002 Spending review.
We have also been looking closely at energy research needs across the board in the light of the Energy White Paper, including nuclear fission. DTI funding is being considered as part of the 2004 Spending Review, which covers the period 2005–08.
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the report, "An Essential Programme to Underpin Government Policy on Nuclear Power", published by the Nuclear Task Force in July 2003. [R] [147520]
§ Mr. TimmsThe report's recommendations are being considered in the wider context of UK energy research requirements as part of the 2004 Spending Review, covering Government expenditure for the period 2005–08.
§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the Renewable Energy Capital Modernisation Fund was allocated in 2003–04, as referred to in her Departmental Report 2003; and what amounts were allocated through non-nuclear expenditure directly related to the creation of open markets in each year since 1997. [147797]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Renewable Energy Capital Modernisation Fund is providing £60 million of the additional £100 million for renewable energy announced by the Prime Minister in March 2001. The allocation of this £100 million to different activities in the renewable energy sector was announced in November 2001 and is set out as follows.
784W
£ million Capital grants for offshore wind 25 Biomass capital grants: 30 Energy crops infrastructure (DEFRA) 3.5 Innovative photovoltaic (PV) projects 10 Community and household schemes 10 Planning facilitation 2.5 Metering, storage and control technologies 4 Wave and tidal demonstrations 5 Support for "blue skies" research (OST) 10 Inclusive of the Prime Minister's £100 million, the Government are allocating £348 million over four years in direct support for renewable energy. This is over and above the incentive to renewable energy provided by the Renewables Obligation. All this support will contribute to opening up market opportunities for renewable energy.