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Under the influence

Feature

Before the earthquake in Japan, support for nuclear energy was at a record high. In February 2011, US president Obama announced $8.3 billion (€5.8 billion) in loan guarantees for construction of the first nuclear reactors in almost 30 years and three out of four Americans said they favoured the energy. Although perceived as a risky option since Chernobyl in 1986, it has quite a bit going for it.... [read more]

Is sutainability criteria needed?

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Sustainability criteria of solid and gaseous biomass is high on the agenda of the European Commission (EC) and will remain one of the important issues in the bioenergy sector until the end of this year. At the end of March 2011 the EC closed a public consultation on this issue and will now ponder whether there is a need to introduce sustainability criteria for solid and gaseous biomass. In case... [read more]

The need for a biomethane credit scheme

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It is possible that in time biomethane could become a valuable component of the economics of the anaerobic digestion (AD) industry. With only Didcot water works and Adnams’ Brewery with the ability to inject gas, one could be forgiven for thinking that this might not be a profitable venture; however, the biomethane carbon credit trading platform is being developed in anticipation of the future... development of the industry. Considering the potential of the UK market for AD and its probable growth over the coming decade, it is clear that the creation of biomethane credits (BMCs) and the facility to trade them will be a valuable asset to the UK AD economy. The BMC will be issued to participating gas producers for every 5m3 of gas injected into the gas grid. The company will be able to create a continuously traded market in these credits, which will provide a liquid low denomination and easy to access product to carbon credit buyers. The intention behind the proposal is to gain regulatory or statutory carbon status for BMCs, allowing them to be delivered as an offset under mandatory trading schemes. This scheme has the potential to serve as an effective way for the UK government to eventually de-socialise the biomethane element of the cost of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This would happen by creating a tradable product that will have an external value to grid-injecting biomethane producers, thus over time transferring the cost of providing subsidy for the renewable industry from the consumer to the private sector. Notwithstanding the fact that the number of non-water industry plants in operation is rather small, there are over 550 AD plants in operation in the water sector. In comparison, the German AD industry, with over 6,000 plants, is far more advanced. The situation in the UK is set to change with the new coalition government’s prioritisation of, and commitment to, ‘a huge increase in energy from waste through AD’. AD is important to the UK government as it fulfils a number of key political objectives; it contributes to renewable energy targets, combats greenhouse gas emissions, whilst at the same time complying with the obligations set out in the European Waste Directive. It also recycles valuable nutrients and helps address energy security issues. It is a win-win from every point of view. [read more]

UK: 12% heat from renewables by 2020

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The UK government is introducing a new policy, the Renewable Heat Incentive, which is the first of its kind in the world and is aimed to cut carbon emissions associated with the production of heat. The policy’s target is to have 12% of the country’s heat come from a renewable source by 2020, meeting targets set by the EU. Currently only 1.5% of heat comes from renewable energy, even though just... under half of all the UK’s carbon emissions come from heat. The incentive will be introduced in two phases. The first phase will be a long-term tariff support plan targeted towards ‘big emitters’ in the non-domestic sector, such as small and large businesses and community heating projects. As part of this phase, the government also wants to entice the domestic sector with a short-term scheme to help introduce renewable heat into homes. It has earmarked £15 million (€17.2 million) as premium payments for these households. Under the scheme, a range of renewable technologies and fuel uses will be supported, such as solid and gaseous biomass, solar thermal, ground and water source heat-pumps, on-site biogas, deep geothermal, energy from waste and an injection of biomethane into the grid. Paul Thompson, head of policy at the Department for Energy and Climate Change explains: ‘In the domestic sector we expect about 25,000 households to sign up for the first 18 months. We’re setting aside a generous amount.’ Although he adds: ‘Whether people will perceive it as generous is another story. There will be a feed-in-tariff that will provide an ongoing income for those that have the equipment. It will give value for money as it begins to operate on a much larger scale.’ The payments will be spread out over a 20 year period and the programme will begin in July 2011, with further details about the scheme due to be announced in May 2011. In order to qualify, those installing biomass heaters with more than 1MW of production will need to report each quarter on the sustainability of their biomass feedstock for combustion. It is not yet known how they will do this, but the method will be outlined in the new rules in May. So far it is also unknown how much money participants will receive at a time. Before the government commits to a figure, it says it wants to be able to better predict the levels of performance the systems will have. Thompson says: ‘It’s all guesswork on how much they (participants) are going to receive. At the moment the premium payments are set at £300. We’re talking about working out what the payments will be after that and whether to meter it and it seems the meters are affordable. Biomass boilers will get a £950 premium payment for domestic usage and then for the rest it will depend on their metered usage.’ [read more]

Member states still not doing enough

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The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), as part of the Renewable Energy Policy Action Paving the Way towards 2020 (REPAP), has released three reports looking at the National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) being put forward by the 27 EU member states under the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) Directive. According to the research, the NREAPs expect the share of RES to meet 34% of... [read more]

Bioelectricity: Brazil leads the way

Feature

Some of the world’s simplest solutions come from existing resources. In Brazil sugarcane serves that purpose. It is a versatile crop by any standards — used for food, fuel, bioplastics and bioelectricity and its use is likely to expand as the importance of sugarcane-based energy sources in the global energy mix continues to grow. The world’s energy demand is growing fast and the need for securing... [read more]

Unfulfilled potential

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A 2009 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study estimates that the commercial biomass available and potentially available in Argentina is around 124 million tonnes in dry weight, made from wood and non-woody biomass. The use of the biomass for energy purposes is still low, with the biggest application being sugarcane bagasse used for cogeneration. The government has decided to diversify the... [read more]

Sustainability auditing in action

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Drax Power (Drax) owns and operates the UK’s largest coal-fired power station. Over the last few years it has developed a range of options to expanding its biomass supply and generation base. Although it is not yet required to report on the sustainability of its biomass supply agreements, the company has started to do so anyway. Drax has recognised public concerns and implemented a series of... [read more]

Montpellier saves money with biomass

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Montpelier, the capital city of Vermont in Canada, is aiming to reduce its emissions by 80% by 2030 and has devised a biomass-fuelled district energy system to help it do so. As part of the scheme, more than 500,000m² will be heated via the system, providing more than 1.8 million KW to the grid and maximising operating efficiency and reducing thermal costs for those in the community. By 2015, the... [read more]

Biomass stable on cleantech indexes

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Rob Wilder drives an electric car, his home is powered by solar panels and he wrote Listening to the Sea, an economic and biological study of marine stewardship. Wilder also invented several financial instruments designed to track or benchmark the performance of the clean energy sector — according to him the Wilder Hill Clean Energy Index (ECO) was the first clean energy index on Wall Street. His... [read more]

Danish energy strategy: a worldwide first

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The Energy Strategy 2050, the first of its kind in the world, aims to encourage the financial investment into renewable energy such as biogas and biomass, replacing coal with more sustainable energy production throughout the country. Under the strategy, the aim is to have wind, biomass and biogas make up 33% of energy consumption, which would push Denmark up to one of the top three nations in the... [read more]

Money really does grow on trees

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‘Trees were meant to be harvested.’ A bold and controversial view maybe, but one held by many within the biomass sector. David Nothmann is vice president of business and product development at ArborGen, one company that provides woody biomass for the bioenergy sector. The company grows trees from seedlings in a controlled environment which in turn are sold to landowners to grow for use in... [read more]

Storage solutions

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March 2011 was something of a watershed for the bioenergy industry in the UK as the long-awaited Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) got the greenlight from the coalition government. The RHI, the first of its kind in the world, is expected to increase green capital investment by £4.5 billion (€5.01 billion) up to 2020, creating real opportunities for all those in the greenheat supply chain. And that... [read more]

Remaining dust free

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A recent study conducted by the University of Toronto in Canada has found converting coal-fired units at two Ontario-based power plants — Nanticoke and Atikokan — to burning wood pellets would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by roughly 92%. Adapting plants to use biomass may be better for the environment but modifications are needed. Unwanted consequences This dust created at biomass plants... [read more]

Is gasification jinxed?

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Gasification holds out the promise of increased efficiency compared to burning biomass to raise steam, especially in neighbourhood plants where the waste heat can be used for district heating. Burning gas in a small gas turbine or spark ignition engine can be 38-40% efficient, where the best steam boiler and turbine plant is rarely more than 22%. It is a technology with a very long history, but... [read more]

Volume 2, Issue 2

Under the influence

Is sutainability criteria needed?

The need for a biomethane credit scheme

UK: 12% heat from renewables by 2020

Member states still not doing enough

Bioelectricity: Brazil leads the way

Unfulfilled potential

Sustainability auditing in action

Montpellier saves money with biomass

Biomass stable on cleantech indexes

Danish energy strategy: a worldwide first

Money really does grow on trees

Storage solutions

Remaining dust free

Is gasification jinxed?

CONNECT WITH US

Popular News Stories

Latest Video

Shock Pulse Generators: Hightech system for automatic boiler cleaning

Volume 2, Issue 2

Under the influence

Is sutainability criteria needed?

The need for a biomethane credit scheme

UK: 12% heat from renewables by 2020

Member states still not doing enough

Bioelectricity: Brazil leads the way

Unfulfilled potential

Sustainability auditing in action

Montpellier saves money with biomass

Biomass stable on cleantech indexes

Danish energy strategy: a worldwide first

Money really does grow on trees

Storage solutions

Remaining dust free

Is gasification jinxed?

CONNECT WITH US

Popular News Stories

Latest Video

Shock Pulse Generators: Hightech system for automatic boiler cleaning

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