asked the Secretary of State for Energy in which EEC countries coal gasification plants are expected to be constructed; what will be the effect of recent cancellations; and what are the proposed capacities of plants.

A commercial scale coal gasifier is under construction near Cologne in the Federal Republic of Germany. The initial capacity will be 1,300 tonnes/day of coal, and the final capacity will be 6,500 tonnes/day. British Gas is at present constructing a demonstration gasifier of 600 tonnes/day at Westfield in Fife. Schemes have reached the advanced stage of planning at Bremen—2,500 tonnes/day and Oberhausen-Holten—900 tonnes/day—in Germany and at Le Havre—1,000 tonnes/ day—in France.Recent decisions to cancel gasifier projects reflect a growing view that the commercial exploitation of coal gasification will be needed later than was assumed a few years ago; the effects of the cuts will depend on how well founded these views are.