---

20 Jun 2005 : Column 723W—continued

Nuclear Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the additional costs, in p/kWh, which would be added to the
 
20 Jun 2005 : Column 724W
 
price of electricity generated by nuclear power were full liability insurance to be required in respect of such generation. [5195]

Malcolm Wicks: It is most unlikely that unlimited liability insurance would be commercially available for such damage. No estimate of the cost has therefore been made.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost of electricity generated by nuclear power, in p/kWh, attributable to the costs of decommissioning liabilities. [5293]

Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not make estimates of the share of generation costs attributable to decommissioning liabilities.

British Energy makes payments into the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, which is underwritten by HMG, for the eventual decommissioning of its nuclear plant. Magnox decommissioning is part of the NDA's remit and incorporated in its planning process. Such proposals are set out in its annual plan for 2005–06. The plan for 2005–06 is available at the NDA website at www.nda.gov.uk.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 in relation to the building and extension of nuclear generation power stations in Scotland. [5108]

Malcolm Wicks: Significant development of any power station in Scotland, including all new plant above 50MW, requires consent from Scottish Executive Ministers under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Radioactive Leak (Thorp)

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason the leak of radioactive material from the Thorp Plant in August 2004 was not noticed until April 2005; how much radioactive material escaped during this period; and if he will make a statement. [4877]

Malcolm Wicks: The operator of THORP, British Nuclear Group Sellafield Ltd., identified the leakage of liquid on 19 April 2005 when a CCTV camera was introduced into the heavily shielded feed clarification cell in the THORP Head End Plant. Around 83 cubic metres of radioactive liquid had escaped from the cell into a fully enclosed stainless steel cell designed to safely contain such leakages. There has been no release of radioactivity from THORP and BNGSL is working to recover the liquid in a safe and controlled manner.

The results of British Nuclear Group's investigation suggests that the pipe may have started to fail in August 2004 and that complete failure of the pipe may have occurred in mid-January 2005. Opportunities such as cell sampling and level measurements were missed which would have shown that the material was escaping to secondary containment. BNG's investigation has made
 
20 Jun 2005 : Column 725W
 
recommendations to improve the maintenance, testing and reliability of cell instrumentation and other systems that give indications of plant abnormality. BNG has acknowledged that the indications that the pipe was leaking were not acted upon quickly enough.

A separate independent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate is considering both technical issues and broader safety culture and management of nuclear safety issues, and this will provide the basis for any subsequent enforcement actions.

Renewables Target

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost of meeting the renewables obligation per tonne of carbon dioxide saved under the 2010 renewables target. [4954]

Malcolm Wicks: The National Audit Report on Renewable Energy published in February this year estimated the figure for the cost of carbon dioxide saved by reaching the renewables obligation target would equate to £70 per tonne.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions that would be saved by successful attainment of the 2010 renewables target; and what proportion of total (a) UK and (b) world carbon dioxide emissions the quantity saved would constitute. [4955]

Malcolm Wicks: Providing 10 per cent. of electricity consumption from renewable energy would save about 2.5 million tonnes of carbon per year in 2010 if the equivalent were generated from gas. This equates to a saving of 1.5 per cent. on 1990 emission levels. The reduction is expected to be about 0.02 per cent. of projected world emissions in 2010.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department's latest estimate is of the reduction in global temperature increase that would be achieved from successful attainment of the Government's 2010 renewables target. [4957]

Malcolm Wicks: The reduction in global temperatures achieved by successful attainment of the Government's renewables target is not directly calculable. The target forms part of an overall package of policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions which, along with the actions taken by other countries, is intended to avoid dangerous climate change.

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what quantity of carbon dioxide he estimates will be saved per mega watt hour of electricity generated from (a) wind and (b) landfill gas for each year until 2010. [4958]

Malcolm Wicks: The level of carbon emissions saved from generation through wind or landfill gas depends on the assumption made about the alternative generation displaced. The emissions factors associated with coal and gas-fired generation are shown in the following table.
 
20 Jun 2005 : Column 726W
 

Generating station displaced	Emissions saving per megawatt hour (grammes of carbon)
Existing coal	0.247
Existing gas	0.111
New gas	0.1

Note:
To convert from carbon to carbon dioxide multiply by 44/12

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's 2010 target for renewable electricity is; which sources of generation are eligible to constitute that target; and whether the target refers to (a) total electricity generated and (b) amount supplied to final consumers. [4959]

Malcolm Wicks: We have set a target of 10 per cent. of the UK's electricity supply to be generated from renewable sources eligible under the Renewables Obligation by 2010 with the aspiration to increase that contribution to 20 per cent. by 2020.

All sources of renewables are eligible under the Renewables Obligation with the exception of large-scale Hydro (over 20 MW DNC) and energy from waste incineration (that does not use advanced Conversion Techniques).

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what level of capacity credit is assigned by his Department to non-dispatchable renewables in 2020. [4961]

Malcolm Wicks: Decisions as to the fuel choice for new capacity are a matter which we believe is best left to the market, where investors are well placed to assess the available information about the level and accessibility of remaining global reserves.

We would expect the market to continue to anticipate, and respond to, the need to replace that capacity.

Royal Mail (Recorded Deliveries)

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for how long Royal Mail is obliged to keep records of recorded deliveries despatched to residential customers. [5179]

Barry Gardiner: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail. The Chief Executive has been asked to reply direct to my hon. Friend.

CABINET OFFICE

London Olympic Bid

Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what dates the Cabinet Committee on the London Olympic Bid has met in the last two years and who attended each meeting. [3578]

Mr. Hutton: Although the Government publish the title, membership and terms of reference of cabinet committees, it has been the practice of successive governments not to disclose details of their proceedings, including the dates they meet.
 
20 Jun 2005 : Column 727W
 

---