Written question asked by Jamie Reed (Labour) on Thursday, 11 August 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 6 September 2011. It was answered by Lord Barker of Battle (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 September 2011 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Biofuels

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the contribution renewable heat from biomass combined heat and power generation will make to the target for energy consumption from renewable sources set under the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC).

Answer: Analysis undertaken for the renewable heat incentive (RHI) impact assessment (published March 2011) suggests a contribution of around 5 TWh of renewable heat from biomass combined heat and power (CHP) by 2020 based on a 2.5p/kWh tariff (equating to around 9% of 58 TWh). However, actual uptake is uncertain. Our estimates will be subject to further analysis and updated in the light of the proposals in the forthcoming consultation on the banding review of the renewables obligation.

Secondary information