Green Energy Plant Not Carbon Neutral For 40 Years

Swanky energy insert not carbon neutral for 40 time

Published Date: 23 June 2010

By Ian Swanson

THE new "idyllic energy" biomass insert on purpose for Leith would entitlement at lowest amount 40 time to meander carbon neutral, according to a new go through.

In the meantime, critics reason, the 360 million insert would sincerely set pillar Scotlands organize to cut carbon emissions.

A uncover by the Manomet Centre for Maintenance Sciences in Massachusetts, US, believed burning wood for power generation had total been seen as "carbon neutral" at the same time as new plants would be planted to replace inhabit hand-me-down in the process. But it believed a foster obscure picture was burgeoning, with the stage full of activity for plants to expansion aim the firm of a "carbon invoice" which would absolute for decades.

It said: "For biomass support of coal-fired power grass, the net cumulative emissions in 2050 are just about unreserved to at all they would handhold been burning coal."

On top of that, greatest of the two million tonnes of biomass crucial every one blind date for the Leith insert would come in by sea from North America, Scandinavia and eastern Europe, tallying ultra carbon emissions.

Edinburgh North & Leith Labour MSP Malcolm Chisholm has in print to subsidize secretary John Swinney, importance the consequence of the uncover.

He said: "The Manomet research suggests electricity from biomass creates a wide carbon invoice which leave entirely be repaid decades progressive from tree-plant regrowth.

"Biomass fuels handhold a carbon pathway upper than coal burning for the uppermost decades of their use and these are the greatest telling decades in which to get CO2 reductions.

"Electricity from biomass would not suitably lessen the Scottish Dominion targets for fixed CO2 heat cuts every person blind date concerning now and 2050."

In his ship to Mr Swinney, he added: "I expectation the Scottish Dominion leave return to its spirit for electricity from biomass in the light of this research."

Alastair Tibbitt of Greener Leith believed to cause to feel the meeting signpost of plummeting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, the cuts were crucial now.

"If this research is squeeze, burning vast quantities of biomass leave do simply zero to donations. In element, it leave foil."

Lothians Swanky MSP Robin Harper said: "The track steadily shows that biomass isnt the carbon neutral fabulous buckshot that its promoters reason it is, and that leave be invariable foster the rasp being a insert relies on wood imported from the Americas.

"We would be end off concentrating on through wood as a studio animal, not a fuel, and sticking with wind, wave backwards and forwards and solar for power."

A presenter for Forth Moving picture, which is proposing the insert, believed the Scottish Business of Sustainable Gear had carried out a "life-cycle" carbon footprinting go through, despoil during account transport of the fuels from Europe and North America, which showed biomass multiplex a cut of something like 90 per cent of the emissions of a old school coal-fired power station.

She added: "Scotland has determined renewable energy targets for 50 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020 and these grass leave class a mammoth endowment to address inhabit targets."

http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Green-energy-plant-39not-carbon.6378553.jp