To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answers of 14 March 2007, Official Report, column 370W on Departments: Energy, and of 2 May 2007, Official Report, columns 1686-87W on Departments: Renewable Energy and 125398, for what reason different figures were given for the proportion of electricity sourced by his Department from renewable sources in 2005-06. (142395)

The figures used in the answer of 14 March reported that 206,087,269 kilowatt hours, representing 63 per cent. of the Departments energy came from renewable resources. This figure included that element of ‘green’ energy that is supplied from good quality combined heat and power, which whilst sustainable, does not meet the criteria for renewable energy. This combined figure for ‘green’ energy is used internally to highlight the decreasing use of standard “brown” electricity and was therefore used inadvertently.

For 2005-06 the Department used 175,174,178 kilowatt hours of energy acquired from renewable sources—accounting for 53.5 per cent. of the total electricity consumption. The remaining 30,913,091 kilowatt hours of ‘green’ energy was supplied from good quality combined heat and power.