Oral Answers to Questions

Lilian Greenwood Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

Not for the first time, the hon. Gentleman has his numbers wrong: it is not 5 GW, but 5 MW—and 5 MW is still the equivalent of heating 1,500 homes. The fact of the matter is that the scheme we inherited from the previous Government—[Interruption] If the hon. Gentleman calms down, he will have the answer. Given the scheme we inherited, we had some choices to make: we supported either people in their homes, small businesses and communities or very large-scale schemes. We decided to support home owners and consumers; the hon. Gentleman can support big single investors. As I say, it is a clear choice.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to provide funding for further carbon capture and storage demonstration projects.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)]

We remain committed to providing public investment for four carbon capture and storage projects and last year announced up to £1 billion for the capital costs of the first project. Decisions on the provision of funding for further projects will be subject to receiving suitable proposals from industry and considerations on value for money and affordability. As the Chancellor announced yesterday, the funding will be provided from general taxation.

[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank the Minister for that response. Last week, I met young research scientists from the university of Nottingham who were undertaking exciting research into carbon capture and storage. Without detail and clarity on future projects, however, the UK could lose the opportunity to be a world leader in this vital technology, so what is the timetable and the guaranteed funding for demonstration projects 2, 3 and 4?