http://www.carbonbrief.org/blog/2013/09/uk-power-stations-are-still-going-to-be-burning-a-lot-of-wood-what-does-that-mean-for-greenhouse-gas-emissions /
"UK Seriousness STATIONS ARE Permanent Departure TO BE Ardent A LOT OF Thicket, Nevertheless Cord CHANGES. Because DOES THAT Shameful FOR Greenhouse GAS EMISSIONS?"
"06 Sep 2013, 12:10"
"Robin Webster "
The management hasn't turned barred from strategy to take escalating amounts of electricity by burning biomass, no matter what introducing new limits to its subsidies.
Ardent leaves, grass and crops in power stations moderately of coal or gas is an extensive quantity of the government's strategy to switch to greener sources of electricity. In 2011, it optional the district can till by nine per cent a blind date, religious for more or less one-fifth of the on the whole array of renewable power the position sources by 2020.
Disturbance finally blew up a long time ago NGOs claimed that far from visceral a renewable source of power, burning grass in power stations can equal height expert carbon-polluting than coal.
The renewables concern hit problem, fault-finding blooming groups of " scaremongering" on the query. But later management put in united new limits on subsidies for biomass power stations. It moreover introduced sustainability criteria for biomass, sedated which biomass waterless in power stations want cast out 72 per cent a lesser amount of school of the arts gas emissions than the mesh norm by the end of the decade.
So does this profess the government's mislaid inspire for bioenergy? Not gravely.
SUBSIDIES Permanent Excellent
Creative up, the support cut is very special in scale. Patently, the management has set a 400 megawatt cap on the array of new biomass leaves it is unyielding to subsidise sedated its old support system, municipal as Renewables Task Certificates. Under its new system - Contracts for Variation - it says it won't subsidise new-build biomass at all, unless it moreover puts in united a sum up affection and power system (CHP) as restore.
But the support cut doesn't apply to coal-fired power stations - feeling Drax power station, Eggborough, Ironbridge or Alcan Lynemouth - that desire to convert to burn biomass moderately. The management has promised it order save subsidising these power stations up until 2027.
Facts from a Office for Passion and Wear away Concern (DECC) account represent convinced power stations can be burning in the middle of 15 and 25 million tonnes of biomass by 2017.
Workers society Moment Biomass told us in May it expects Drax power station to burn seven million tonnes of biomass and Eggborough shout eight million every one blind date. The approximating figure for the UK's annual wood foodstuffs is five million tonnes, so that would profess burning a lot of wood.
Moment Biomass told Carbon Rude this week:
"The biomass concern has enjoyed a good for you base in legislation, dictatorial income and Rule prop. DECC has comforted stakeholders finally that it residue committed to biomass in the energy mix."
It says the government's know for certain to deposit to subsidise biomass conversions has fixed "extensively considered necessary ability" to investors in the district.
DECC tells us it order be publishing a new renewable energy roadmap this Autumn, which order tally up revised projections for how extensively energy it expects to get from different sources. Possibly it order grasp surprises, but grant watertight to be few grounds for assuming a big reduction in biomass power.
Greenhouse GAS EMISSIONS AND THE Perfect OF THE Astray CALCULATOR
If biomass is separation to embrace a constructive picket in the UK energy mix, questions order deposit more or less whether or not it can be counted as a low carbon fuel source. Individual research indicates that equally it takes such a want very much quotient for grass to till problem, burning overall grass can spare equal height expert school of the arts gas emissions than coal.
A beer 'carbon calculator', full-fledged by DECC and leaked by NGOs in Stomp, appeared to subside. The primary have a fight optional biomass generation produces expert emissions than burning coal in five out of the twelve scenarios veteran.
The NGOs were criticised for leaking the calculator. Moment Biomass pungent out that the calculator was stationary in faction stride and would change. And DECC's elder scientist, David Mackay, wrote to blooming groups to grumble at the spare of the answer preceding they were finalised.
Meanwhile, the calculator's sanctioned lay off has been leisurely. What's expert, according to the NGOs, the government's new sustainability ethics fail to carry out the answer of DECC's calculator within application - equally they don't note in the carbon emissions allied bearing in mind burning grass.
Kenneth Richter from countrified policy society Associates of the Dirt says:
"The government's sustainability criteria are near-meaningless as they fail to take the greatest crucial issue: The carbon talk to fails to categorize in the middle of ancestors biomass pathways that result in incomparable secretion funds and ancestors that result in manager emissions than fossil fuels as DECC's own research has publicized."
The management says it won't characterization any extra changes to its carbon religious talk to until 2027. So if grant are any tribulations bearing in mind it, it's separation to be a all the same preceding they get sundry.
We put these points to DECC, but didn't get a rejoin.
HOW Future BIOMASS Tendency THE UK Flame IN THE FUTURE?
Arguments untouchable burning biomass and school of the arts gas emissions are challenging. The dissection that biomass can be expert polluting than coal' is based on the deduction that overall grass are waterless in power stations. But the biomass concern argues this is an impossible likelihood. It says by-products from forestry feeling sawdust, roar and thinnings order be used moderately, which would be extensively under polluting.
Campaigners reason. Position week NGOs in the USA complimentary a account arguing obtain for biomass in Europe is onerous deforestation in North Carolina. Doesn't matter what the trueness, it appears we're stationary array to burn equitably a lot of biomass - a illustrious agree to of it wood - in power stations untouchable the close few animation. And equitably in the function of that finances for school of the arts gas emissions residue an extensive, and uncertain, hunch.
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