Tag Archives: conversion
Biomass Energy Growth Flags As Official Support Wavers
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3baaaee2-04d6-11e3-9ffd-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2cPVXDIJu By Guy Chazan The chimneys of Drax Power Station are seen through a field of wheat near Selby, North Yorkshire.©Reuters Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire The UK biomass industry received a shot in the arm this week, as a Danish pension fund pledged to invest £128m in a new 40 megawatt power plant at Brigg in Lincolnshire to generate electricity from straw. But the good news masked a difficult outlook for the sector. A more accurate indicator came on Monday, when RWE npower closed a coal-fired power plant at Tilbury, Essex, which had previously been planned for conversion into one of the world’s largest biomass power stations. Biomass, once seen as pivotal to Britain’s hopes of meeting its renewable energy targets, is hitting the buffers as the government rethinks support for the sector. Its waning fortunes have come as a shock to many in the renewables sector, which had viewed biomass as among the most promising non-fossil fuels. Coal-fired plant operators, threatened with shutdown under stringent EU environmental laws, found they could extend their life by burning wood pellets. Some green groups have long questioned the benefits of growing trees and crops for fuel, fearing it could lead to deforestation. However, the main reason for the sour mood in the sector is not environmental opposition but doubts over government subsidies. Many developers had hoped their projects would qualify for the coalition’s new system of support for low-carbon technologies, the so-called “contracts for difference”, or CFDs. But in a recent consultation document, the government said new dedicated biomass plants that produce electricity but not heat – most of those now on the drawing board – should not be eligible for CFDs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it continued to support the conversion of old coal plants to biomass, which it said “provide value for money and help to meet [the UK’s] climate targets”. But it said government analysis showed that new-build dedicated biomass plants offered less value for money, measured by carbon savings per pound spent, compared with other renewable technologies such as offshore wind. That judgment has caused dismay in the industry. “It’s damped the mood,” says David Hostert of Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “Projects that have been in limbo for the last four to five years are now even further away from financing.” Biomass was long central to the UK’s ambitions of deriving 15 per cent of its overall energy from renewable sources by 2020. Ministers say bioenergy, which includes biofuels such as ethanol as well as biomass, has the potential to provide about 30 per cent of the 2020 target. Some progress has been made. A government scheme, the Renewable Heat Incentive, which helps businesses meet the cost of installing technologies such as heat pumps and biomass boilers, has been largely successful. Biomass is also expanding fast in combined heat and power projects, such as on-site power generation initiatives at supermarkets, although subsidies may be harder to obtain after next year, when the rules will be tightened. Despite the setback at Tilbury, which failed to qualify for a subsidy, other projects to convert existing coal-fired plants are going ahead with government support. Drax, which has a 4000MW coal-fired power plant in Yorkshire, has launched a £750m investment programme to switch three of its six units to wood pellets. Eggborough, a 2000MW coal-fired plant in Yorkshire, is also pressing on with a conversion plan. But other projects, especially those aiming for generating capacity of more than 60MW, are struggling. “Some people are on their knees,” says Paul Thompson, head of policy at the Renewable Energy Association. The government has also introduced a 400MW cap for new dedicated capacity, with the result that enthusiasm for biomass has been severely dented. “A year-and-a-half ago people hoped there would be an explosion of investment in the sector,” says Bloomberg’s Mr Hostert. “Now the outlook is still good compared to other countries in Europe but certainly not as rosy as it was 18 months ago.” Continue reading
Boost For Biofuels Production
Friday 16 August 2013 SCIENTISTS say they have discovered a potential key to more efficient biofuel production, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Biofuels are a source of energy created by processing fast-growing plants as opposed to matter that has taken millions of years to form. An international team of scientists from the UK, Belgium and the US has identified a new enzyme associated with lignin, a major component of plant cell walls that limits their conversion to energy by reducing the accessibility of sugar molecules necessary for biofuel production. The lignin has to be removed through an energy-consuming process, therefore plants with a lower amount of lignin, or containing lignin that is easier to break down, are ideally suited for the process. Experts in plant genetics, biochemistry and chemical analysis teamed up to identify a key enzyme named caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE). By knocking it out, the scientists found that it resulted in 36% less lignin per gram of stem material. The remaining lignin also had an altered structure which contributed to a more efficient conversion of biomass to energy. The findings are published online in this week’s issue of Science Express magazine. Professor Claire Halpin, of Dundee University, said: “It looks like it could be very useful in trying to manipulate plant biomass to generate biofuels and other chemicals from non-food crops.” The study was a collaboration between Dundee University, the James Hutton Institute, VIB research institute and Ghent University in Belgium and the University of Wisconsin in the US. Continue reading
Bamboo Charcoal Technologies Introduced In Ghana
The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), is promoting bamboo charcoal technologies in Ghana, which have the potential to jump-start the country’s bio-energy sector and generate and sustain the charcoal business. It will also slow down deforestation and fight climate change. Mr Michael Kwaku, Country Director of INBAR Ghana, said in a statement issued in Accra on Wednesday and copied to Ghana News Agency that China-Africa collaboration focuses on bamboo to provide cleaner, safer, green energy source. It will also create and sustain jobs in the wood-fuel sector. The statement said the Forestry Research Institute is partnering Bamboo and Rattan Development Programme at the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources Africa and communities in the Western Region and INBAR to implement the project. The European Union and China are working to substitute bamboo charcoal and firewood for forest wood on, which 65 per cent of the rural population depends for its fuel needs. Initial successes with bamboo charcoal briquette in Ghana and Ethiopia, which have put bamboo biomass at the centre of renewable energy policies, are spurring interest in countries across the continent. This is prompting calls for greater investment in bamboo-based charcoal production as a green biofuel that can fight deforestation and mitigate climate change. “Bamboo, the perfect biomass grass, grows naturally across Africa and presents a viable, cleaner and sustainable alternative to wood fuel. “Without such an alternative, wood charcoal will remain the primary household energy source for decades to come—with disastrous consequences,” the statement said. It said In Ghana, the reason behind the cutting down of trees is usually for charcoal, pasture for livestock, farms, urban or industrial purposes. The number of trees illegally cut down yearly is way beyond the number of culprits arrested, which indicates that most of them culprits go scot free. This in the long run, causes depletion of land and harms green plants and animals. The statement said burning wood has a significant impact on the climate. Scientists predict that the burning of wood fuel by African households, will release the equivalent of 6.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere by 2050. Ten tonnes of raw wood produces one tonne of wood charcoal, making wood fuel collection an important driver of deforestation in Ghana. About 15 billion people have few alternative fuel sources. The INBAR project is the first to transfer bamboo charcoal and briquette technologies from China to Ghana to produce sustainable ‘green biofuels’ using locally available bamboo resources. “Ensuring food security in a changing climate is one of the major challenges of our era. It is well known that the destruction of Ghana’s forests has negative repercussions on livelihoods and sustainable agriculture as it feeds into a cycle of climate change, drought and poverty,” Ms Gloria Asare Adu, Executive Director Global Bamboo Product Limited. “Feeding people in decades to come will require ingenuity and innovation to produce more food on less land in more sustainable ways,” the statement said. Scientists believe that deforestation across the northern regions within the forest transitional zones, has contributed to changes in the weather forecast. Years of tree-clearing for charcoal in some part of the north, particularly in the Upper East and Upper East Regions, have eliminated fragile forests that stood as the last line of defence against the conversion of sparsely forested dry lands and pastures into useless desert, according to researchers from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. The International Energy Agency predicts that if business continues as usual, by 2030 biomass energy in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana will still account for about three-quarters of total residential energy, underscoring the urgency of coming up with a sustainable alternative biomass to replace wood. Sub-Saharan Africa has more than 2.75 million hectares of bamboo forest, equivalent to roughly four per cent of the continent’s total forest cover. “Rural communities need access to sustainable approaches that will keep trees in the ground and the environment safe,” Professor Karanja M. Njoroge, Executive Director, Green Belt Movement has said. He said: “Bamboo grows naturally across Africa’s diverse landscapes, but unlike trees, it regrows after harvest and lends itself very well for energy plantations on degraded lands. We should put it to good use to provide clean energy for Ghana.” China is a global leader in the production and use of bamboo charcoal. The sector is worth an estimated $1 billion a year and employs more than 60,000 people in more than 1,000 businesses. Chinese partners, including the Nanjing Forestry University and WENZHAO Bamboo Charcoal Co., are helping to adapt equipment like brick kilns, grinders and briquette machines, and hand tools, for bamboo charcoal and briquette production using local materials. Building on this momentum, the INBAR initiative is now transferring China’s advanced bamboo charcoal technologies to sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to charcoal, bamboo offers many new opportunities for income generation. It can be processed into a vast range of wood products, from floorboards to furniture and from charcoal to edible shoots. The world bamboo export was estimated at $1.6 billion in 2009, a decline of about $ 659 million from $ 2.2 billion in 2008. INBAR is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to reducing poverty, conserving the environment and creating fairer trade using bamboo and rattan. INBAR was established in 1997 and represents a growing number of member countries all over the world. The headquarters is in China with regional offices in Ghana, Ethiopia, India and Ecuador. The organisation connects a global network of governmental, non-governmental, corporate and community partners in more than 50 countries. For more information one could go to www.inbar.int; http://bioenergy.inbar.int G NA Continue reading
