PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1065W
Written Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Written Answers
1066W
Research suggests that the average wind farm is expected
to generate at least 20 to 25 times the energy used in its
manufacture, installation, operation and eventual
decommissioning over its lifetime; the average energy
payback time for a wind farm is between three and
10 months:
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/FACULTY/ITO/GG410/
Wind/Kubiszewski _ EROI_Wind_RenEn10.pdf
In 2011, onshore wind generated 1.0.4 TWh of electricity.
This is taken from the Digest of United Kingdom
Energy Statistics (DUKES) 2012, table 6.4, which is
available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewablesources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdomenergy-statistics-dukes
Wind Power: Thames Estuary
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy
and Climate Change what assessment his Department
has made of the effect of the establishment of
windfarms on commercial shipping in the Thames
Estuary. [148546]
Mr Hayes: We recognise that it is important that the
offshore wind and shipping industries are able to work
alongside each other to maximise the benefits for both
sectors and for the United Kingdom as a whole.
All applications for renewable energy developments
are considered within a formal process. Any consideration
of the potential impacts of any wind farm in the Thames
Estuary, including upon shipping and shipping lanes,
during this process will take account of the views of the
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (the Government’s
advisers on navigational safety matters), Trinity House
and other relevant stakeholders, including port authorities.
In addition, there are regular meetings between the
shipping industry (commercial and recreational), wind
farm developers, regulators and Government to discuss
shipping and renewable energy issues through the Nautical
and Offshore Renewable Energy Liaison Group.
BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS
Fires
Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what steps his
Department is taking to make the UK economy more
resilient to incidents of fire; [149537]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to reduce the
(a) number and (b) severity of fires in industrial and
commercial premises. [149539]
Michael Fallon: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer
given by the Under-Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member
for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis), on 14 March
2013, Official Report, column reference 287W.
Green Deal Finance Company
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills how much capital has
the Green Investment Bank provided to the Green
Deal finance company since the establishment of that
company. [149983]
Michael Fallon: Details of the Green Investment Bank’s
participation in the finance package for the Green Deal
are due to be announced shortly.
Green Investment Bank
Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the Budget
2013 Red Book, Table 2.5, which capital items and
projects are no longer proceeding as a consequence of
the underspend by the Green Investment Bank in
2012-13; and if he will make a statement. [150124]
Michael Fallon: There are no specific projects or
capital spending plans that are no longer proceeding.
The UK Green Investment Bank has full flexibility to
carry forward capital under-spends within this spending
review period. The bank is confident it will commit the
full £3 billion the Government is providing for the
period to April 2015.
Higher Education: Admissions
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what information
his Department holds on the rate of university
admissions, excluding admissions from overseas, of
young people from different ethnic groups and each
income level relative to the proportion of such groups
to the overall population of young people; [149447]
(2) what information his Department holds on the
rate of university admissions, excluding admissions
from overseas, of young people from different ethnic
groups, relative to the proportion of such groups to the
overall population of young people; and what those
figures would be if different levels of academic
achievement were taken into account. [149448]
Mr Willetts: The information is not held centrally.
Data on applications and acceptances to full-time
undergraduate courses by ethnic group are collected by
the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
and are available from their website at:
http://www.ucas.com/about_us/stat_services/stats_online/data tables/
Information on the numbers of entrants to both
full-time and part-time undergraduate courses by ethnic
group is collected by the Higher Education Statistics
Agency (HESA) and is available from their website at:
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/content/view/1973/239/
Neither organisation publishes admissions by ethnic
group as a percentage of the overall population of
young people.
Both UCAS and HESA are organisations independent
from Government. The Government is firmly committed
to improving the information available about higher
education through the key information set and other
initiatives, and is in favour of transparency on who
applies to and who attends higher education.
Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for
Business, Innovation and Skills how many university
applications made through UCAS came from students
at private and independent schools in each of the last
five years. [149690]