asked the Secretary of State for Energy what financial support is being provided by his Department for the development of refuse-generated methane as an energy source.

My Department has committed nearly £2 million towards the cost of a number of projects for the development and exploitation of land-fill gas as an energy source, the total cost of which is just over £5·5 million. Of this support, some £700,000 is for research and development work and nearly £1·25 million is for demonstration projects under the energy efficiency demonstration scheme.