Biomass may hinder climate fight
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/
12th November, 2012
A report by campaign groups has warned that burning biomass (such as wood) in power stations may hinder attempts to tackle climate change. Biomass is expected to contribute about third of the UK's mandatory EU target for renewable energy by 2020. It's described by the Committee on Climate Change as an economic means of low-carbon power. But the report warns it will take too long for trees to re-absorb the carbon emitted by burning wood. It also expresses concerns over the scale of the plans. The government has opened a consultation asking how much carbon can be saved by burning biomass (plant material) and whether the policy will harm forests.
Biomass burning is not a zero-pollution option. It creates greenhouse gases to cut and transport the wood, and when the wood is burned. But supporters say that so long as the burned vegetation is replaced by new plants to absorb CO2 that should confer a significant advantage over using fossil fuels. The numbers are debated. Power firms say the CO2 savings are worthwhile, but the Institute for European Environment Policy (IEEP) says there's no reason to believe the required emissions reductions will be achieved with current biomass policy. As biomass burning expands the topic is increasingly controversial. Drax power station - the UK's biggest source of electricity - is converting three of its six giant boilers to burning biomass. They will gobble up nearly seven million tonnes of plant material a year.
Drax will have to import 90% of its biomass. The firm says its major source will be unwanted offcuts from the timber industry, mainly in the Americas. Roger Harrabin visited Drax power station that will start to burn increasing amounts of wood and other biomass in the coming years
From 2013, the government mandates that biomass burning for power will need to emit no more than 70g CO2/kJ after a lifecycle analysis including emissions from transport and cutting. Drax says it averages between 20 and 75g, depending on the biomass used. The figures compare with 280g for the average UK coal power station (Environment Agency); 122 for North Sea gas; and 193g for Russian piped gas (Friends of the Earth). But campaign groups are highly sceptical. They say the methodology is flawed.
Harry Huyton from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) told BBC News: "Drax's demand for biomass will be huge - more than the entire output of forests in the UK. The power firms say they are using offcuts, but there are some whole trees going into the system and as demand expands we simply don't believe that forests and wildlife will be protected.
"We have seen the policy on biofuels for road transport go horribly wrong. We don't think biomass burning is as foolish as biofuels policy - but we have major misgivings about biomass policy too. Do we really want to be shipping wood to burn from America? "Of course growing plants absorb CO2 - but when they're burned it releases CO2 immediately and you have to wait for decades or hundreds of years for that to be taken up. With climate change we don't have the time to waste."