asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate his Department has made of the possible contribution of solar energy to the United Kingdom's total energy requirement by the year 1995.

My Department's latest energy projections to the year 2000 do not incorporate any contribution to United Kingdom energy supplies from solar energy or other renewable sources. This is because, on present evidence, they are unlikely to make a significant contribution or be economically preferable to other fuels over that period. However, if the Government's solar energy research and development programmes are successful in accelerating the development of cost effective systems, solar energy might be contributing a few million tons of coal equivalent annually by the end of the century.