Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Wednesday, 6 July 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 11 July 2005. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Monday, 18 July 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Methane energy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the amount of energy that will be generated from methane from (a) waste sites, (b) coal mines and (c) other sources in each of the next three years.

Answer: Estimates for energy generated from methane sources for the next three years are shown as thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (kTOE) in the following table: Methane source 2006 2007 2008 Operating deep mines 18 17 14 Abandoned mines 30 43 45 Landfill gas (electricity) 1,338 1,441 1,545 Landfill gas (heat) 14 14 14 Sewage gas (electricity) 170 178 187 Sewage gas (heat) 64 72 79 Anerobic digestion on farms minimal minimal minimal Notes: 1. Estimates from coal mines are based on current generation and projections for mine closures. Number of mines generating is less than number of mines open. 2. Estimates of energy generation from landfill and sewage gas are derived by linear interpolation, consistent with the most recent projections published by the Department of Trade and Industry for 2005 and 2010. 3. The number of digesters currently used for anaerobic digestion on farms in the UK is thought to be very small.

Secondary information