Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the capacity of her Department's buildings for the micro-generation of renewable energy; and if she will make a statement.

A key aspect of core Defra’s construction and major refurbishment projects is consideration and incorporation of renewable energy technologies where viable. The Department’s Alnwick office construction in 2009 used a wind turbine, solar photovolataic panels and a biomass boiler. A major refurbishment of the York office (2008) included solar thermal panels.

The Department’s London headquarters building, Nobel House, was refurbished in 2012. The building had previously been assessed, in 2010, for renewable energy technologies but was not considered suitable due to the building’s position, aspect and listed status.