Departmental Energy Use

Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of electricity used by her Department in the last period for which figures are available was generated (a) from renewable resources and (b) through on-site micro-generation facilities.

Mr. Hoon
Since the financial year 2002-03, 100 per cent. of the electricity used in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Main Building is from renewable sources. In financial year 2005-06, this amounted to 38.97 per cent. of the FCO’s total UK electricity consumption. At present we do not generate electricity on-site from micro-generation, though we are a significant user of the Whitehall District Heating System. We do not hold data on the percentage of electricity generated from renewable energy resources and on-site micro-generation facilities for our overseas estate.