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14 Nov 2005 : Column 885W—continued
Microgeneration Promotion
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress he has made in drawing up a strategy for microgeneration promotion; and if he will make a statement. [26833]
Malcolm Wicks: A public consultation on the Government strategy to promote microgeneration was held between 23 June and 23 September this year. In addition a study into the costs and benefits of microgeneration was commissioned and is expected to report shortly. The findings of this study and the responses to the consultation are being fed into the process of developing the final strategy, which will be published in April 2006.
Miners' Compensation
Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2005, Official Report, column 710W, on miners' compensation, if he will (a) place in the Library and (b) post on his Department's website the details of the efficiency improvement programme on miners' compensation to which reference is made. [25685]
Malcolm Wicks: The efficiency improvement programme includes six work streams:
Strategic and operations planning
Systems and business intelligence
Improvements against benchmarks are regularly reported and monitored. This detailed information is commercially confidential and inappropriate for publication.
Ministerial Travel
Mike Penning:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) flights and (b) helicopter flights have been taken by Ministers within his Department for (i) UK and (ii) overseas visits in each year since 1995; on how many occasions (A) charter
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flights were used and (B) first and club class tickets were obtained; and who accompanied the Ministers on each trip. [27806]
Alan Johnson: The answer to this question could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Nuclear Power
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been levied in fines by the Nuclear Inspectorate against (a) companies, (b) local authorities and (c) individuals with regard to incidences of pollution (i) in total, (ii) in each region and (iii) per fine in each year since 1995, broken down by the type of pollution incidence. [27792]
Malcolm Wicks: The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate does not impose fines. This is a matter for the courts.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list meetings (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department attended in the last three months at which nuclear power was discussed; and who attended each meeting. [17406]
Malcolm Wicks: Following is a list of meetings in the last three months at which DTI Ministers specifically discussed nuclear power.
Radioactive Material
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many movements of spent nuclear fuel occurred in each year since 1997 (a) by air within UK airspace, (b) by sea within UK waters, (c) by rail and (d) by road. [27666]
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Malcolm Wicks: The movement of spent nuclear fuel is regulated by the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (NISR 2003) which became effective on 22 September 2003. Information concerning the number of movements of spent nuclear fuel prior to this date is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost and by reference to individual nuclear operators. Since 22 September 2003 individual sea, rail and road carriers of nuclear material have been required to provide the Office for Civil Nuclear Security with a seven-day notification of movement and the number of movements notified are as follows:
| Financial year | Sea | Rail | Road |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04(1) | 16 | 405 | 568 |
| 2004–05 | 6 | 852 | 875 |
| 2005–06(2) | 1 | 471 | 487 |
(1) September 2003 to March 2004.
(2) To date.
The NISR 2003 do not cover the movement of nuclear material by air, but since 22 September 2003, there have been no recorded movements of spent nuclear fuel by road or rail to or from a UK airport.
Renewable Energy
Dr. Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements exist to manage the supply of electricity from Snugborough wind farm in County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, with particular reference to the renewables obligation certificate scheme; and if he will make a statement. [25525]
Malcolm Wicks: Renewables obligation certificates (ROCs) can be claimed by generators where the electricity is generated and supplied in Great Britain and Northern Ireland using technologies eligible under the renewables obligation. Under this scheme Snugborough wind farm is not eligible to claim ROCs as it is located in the Republic of Ireland.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will include energy-from-waste technology in the renewables obligation. [26114]
Malcolm Wicks: Waste from pure biomass, e.g. agricultural waste, food wastes and forestry material are all currently eligible under the renewables obligation. In addition mixed waste from non-fossil derived energy is eligible when electricity is generated using pyrolysis, gasification or anaerobic digestion technologies.
The Government are consulting within the renewables obligation review on a proposal to extend eligibility to the conventional combustion of mixed wastes for projects using good quality combined heat and power.
Wind Energy
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what statistics are kept by his Department in regard to wind farm applications in each region. [26991]
Malcolm Wicks:
The Department does not hold statistics in regard to wind farm applications broken down by region.
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Applications for wind farms that do not fall to the DTI to deal with under sections 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 (ie wind farms with a capacity of less than 50 MW onshore) are normally dealt with through the local planning system.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average level of subsidy given to companies applying for planning permission to erect (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines has been since 1997. [27178]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry does not provide subsidies for companies applying for planning permissions to erect onshore and offshore wind turbines.
Onshore and offshore wind which are generating electricity are able to benefit from the Renewables Obligation (RO) which along with exemption from the climate change levy will provide support of £1 billion per year by 2010 to the renewable industry.
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether an application has been made by npower renewables in relation to the development of the Gwynt-y-Mor wind farm off the coast of North Wales. [27196]
Malcolm Wicks: No application has been received.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of wind farm planning applications have been successful to date. [27339]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department does not hold information on the percentage of wind farm planning applications that have been successful to date.
Applications for wind farms that do not fall to the DTI to deal with under Sections 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 (i.e. wind farms with a capacity of less than 50MW onshore) are normally dealt with through the local planning system.
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of turbines required to generate the 10 per cent. energy from wind power expected by the Government; and how many grid connections are planned to facilitate this. [26231]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government's target of renewable energy sources contributing 10 per cent. of our electricity by 2010 is for all forms of renewables, not just wind. However it is clear that wind will make the main contribution. At this stage it is difficult to predict precise numbers. There are already just under 1,450 wind turbines of various sizes, currently in operation. These turbines are sited both offshore and onshore.
Generating 10 per cent. of UK electricity from renewables could mean an increase of possibly another one and halt times that number.
As with the number of turbines it is not possible to calculate the number of grid connections that are required to facilitate the meeting of the 10 per cent. renewables target. This will depend on where windfarms are located and the grid infrastructure in those areas.
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