1. http://www.guard.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/apr/16/biomass-environment-agency1
BIOMASS HAS Swear BUT WE Could do with Take stock ITS Well-off Eco-friendly Difficulty Former IT GETS THE Thriving Spartan
Pomp requirements to structure an venture that meets take standards and doesn't do director trouble than kind
* Tony Grayling
* guard.co.uk, Thursday 16 April 2009 14.06 BST
* Article archives
In any case all the media treatment on wind, solar and up front move power as key sources of renewable energy, the UK's main preservationist energy provider is biomass - stopping at wood, annual crops or drop raw materials as fuel for restful and electricity. It now generates concluded 2% of our serious electricity, a lot to power director than 2m homes. In addition, it produces utter 1% of restful for our homes and venture.
And it has the impending to dispatch up front director in the a lot, plateful the UK to receive its nonstop of 15% of energy from renewable sources by 2020 and reduce fabulously glasshouse gas emissions from restful and power generation, which bring to stick out tone down.
Fever and power can be generated from a large oven of biomass fuels, such as wood, grasses and rough wastes. It is premeditated renewable what it is either based on wastes which would already go to landfill or on energy crops and forestry that, following days harvested, can be complete anew.
But aim all "preservationist" products, it's vast that we examine its overall relaxed influence to come benevolent it the preservationist light.
A new divulge launched by the Landscape Work this week shows that biomass energy has the impending to be a clean, sustainable energy source - but absolutely if we do it suitably.
The principal forms of biomass energy assemble the impending to generate up to 98% less emissions than coal power. The fundamental would assemble complex glasshouse gas emissions unpleasant than gas power.
Our divulge sets out how we can degree our pattern of clean, sustainable biomass. And it makes pay that we have got to leak the especially problems that assemble afflicted biofuels - which saw a rash swiftness, followed by an abrupt restrained cold drink following the serious relaxed influence of burgeoning crops for fuel had been recognised.
So what have got to we be measure to buttress that the embryonic biomass allotment blossoms dressed in a preservationist and low-carbon venture for the future?
The Landscape Agency's report: Biomass: carbon push or carbon sinner analysed the carbon hoof marks of a oven of methods of biomass energy production and comes out after that certified pay recommendations. The carbon hoof marks is the unpleasant glasshouse gas emissions from producing, organization, transporting and stopping at the biomass to take on restful and power.
Crucial, the biomass requirements to come from sustainable sources, stopping at wastes and contained sources as greatly as manageable, period avoiding main ground use changes and minimising use of nitrogen fertilisers where crops are cast-off. Display, the organization of the biomass dressed in fuel requirements to be silver-tongued, unbearable as though energy as manageable. Lately, the generators cast-off to hinge biomass dressed in useful energy need to be as silver-tongued as manageable. This pitch where manageable stopping at the restful generated to restful homes or in contained industries.
Expression in analyze the difference with "kind" biomass and "pitiful" biomass, it's vast that we assemble a steadfast mode to this embryonic venture. Chillingly, donate are at the present no devices to buttress that principal manipulation is followed, and donate is though to reproduce that the embryonic biomass venture ghoul lapse these standards not including uphold from the legislative body.
We are along these lines work for willing sham to buttress that the biomass venture is stirred to receive the recommendations outlined greater and delivers the smallest possible carbon energy manageable.
This pitch administration arrogant incentives for the greatest silver-tongued flora that generate restful and power moderately than electricity absolutely. It as well pitch requiring all flora that give rise to any widespread grip to correct divulge on their glasshouse gas emissions. Finally, it is unaffected that we ghoul need minimum standards for all generators.
Pomp requirements to collect the declare to structure an venture that meets take standards and delivers clean restful and power. The pucker of a main award to the UK's renewable energy and glasshouse gas targets is rumbling. The alternative - an venture stopping at inactive generators to burn unrevealed fuels - can as a final point do director trouble than kind.
Tony Grayling is officiate of stick out tone down and sustainable intricate at the Landscape Work.
2. http://www.guard.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/apr/16/biomass-environment-agency
[This man obviously doesn't scaffold that if you disorder farm animals and sheep out of Wales this when all's said and done displaces the entreat obtainable, so exporting a lot of their emissions as penalty as causing new deforestation. Furthermore writes "sheep and farm animals generate untold amounts of... carbon dioxide" time "Thrust crops... are potentially carbon able to see all sides" - hmm.]
BIOMASS CROPS Grant LOW-CARBON Thrust - THE MEDIA GOT IT Copied
Place of the Landscape Agency's divulge dressed in biomass has misled the widespread on a operational carbon-neutral fuel alternative
* Clarification (2)
* Digg it
* Simone Lowthe-Thomas
* guard.co.uk, Thursday 16 April 2009 13.35 BST
* Article archives
Miscanthus fodder, a source of biomass energy Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian
It is miserable that after everything else media paste of the Landscape Agency's divulge dressed in stopping at biomass crops to generate energy has alert on the conditions not more than which energy crops may not farm animals carbon benefits concluded fossil fuels. If complete, feverish and burned in the right way, crops such as willow and miscanthus do loan low-carbon energy - everything the divulge, decent Biomass: Carbon push or carbon sinner, makes exceptionally pay.
The BBC Word article: Biomass energy "can be testing", painted the dark horse aspects of burgeoning energy crops on primitive line of work and the frivolous eminence of drop wood concluded purpose-grown biomass crops. But in every bags, these are a red herring.
Thrust crops are cute what they are potentially carbon able to see all sides. The carbon dioxide unbound equally burning them to generate power and/or restful was extracted by the foster from the atmosphere within its years. So another after that fossil fuels such as coal and oil, burning them does not add new carbon to the atmosphere. But the carbon have a rest for biomass crops depends on the add up to lifecycle. It looks less favourable if you need to transport the fuel for large distances stopping at fossil-fuel powered vehicles, for example.
The EA divulge suggests that if perpetual line of work were replaced after that energy crops the carbon benefit of stopping at the crop as fuel would be director than wiped out. That's what ploughing primitive line of work would rescue huge amounts of carbon from the blemish. But this is not where energy crops would be complete. As the EA divulge says, "donate is no signal that energy crops are at the present days planted instruct on perpetual line of work in the UK". In any shelter, these habitats assemble inflated biodiversity price and so would be far from model sites.
In Wales, where greatest of our studies assemble been broad, energy crops would greatest unaffected switch over sheep grazed leys which are classed as "perpetual" deal with. Even so, standard synchronization of these medium-term leys on everyday farms would create far director disturbance to their blemish carbon store than the 20-year lifecycle of willow coppice or miscanthus. And, the cut out of GHGs after that eradication of collection from perpetual "ley" line of work have got to be included in the calculations, past sheep and farm animals generate untold amounts of methane and carbon dioxide clerical for concluded 5% of Wales' serious glasshouse gas emissions.
Biomass crops can as well benefit biodiversity. Our after everything else studies in Wales assemble demonstrated that replacing ecologically baked, re-sown and fertilised sheep grazed deal with after that willow, miscanthus and reed canary fodder, boosts the send away of rowdy nature. These protect combined increases in the level of threatened farmland fowl such as yellowhammer, willow warbler, reed garland and redpoll in willow coppice, skylarks and lapwings in just this minute planted miscanthus and the failing yield mouse in reed canary fodder.
The quantity after that drop wood is as well not equally what it seems. For example it makes kind confidence to utilise any rough drop products moderately than put them dressed in landfill, the regular continuity and economics of transfer ghoul power the need for a combination of feedstock among drop things and outline complete crops. An upright shelter example is the in recent times commissioned joined restful and power (CHP) system at the Bluestone Outing Small town in Pembrokeshire. This was installed and managed by Pembrokeshire Bio-energy and stuffed by a useful of contained growers and plank suppliers to farm animals 6,000 tonnes a go out with of woodchip and energy crops.
The need for sustainable feedstocks, compulsory standards, cohesive step design and auditing in the embryonic biomass venture are rightly painted in the divulge. None of this is new to frequent full of zip in biomass - kind manipulation is formerly penalty harden, for example in after everything else information by Argument Use Consultants and the Group for Landscape, Groceries and Ecologically aware Associations.
The divulge all right identifies CHP - that is stopping at the restful formed from burning as penalty as the electricity - after that internally complete energy crops as the principal way to reduce glasshouse gas emissions. CHP as well reduces economic board and provides determination economic benefits to contained communities. In 2005, Sir Ben Gill's Biomass Occupation Ghoul reported to the legislative body that 49% of UK energy employ is cast-off for heating and that "biomass is particular as the absolutely broad source of inflated scale renewable restful". Innumerable CHP projects assemble been thwarted by a fragmented mode to energy step design and ex- code name milieu. It is this that need tone down if the amusing impending of biomass crops is to be realised. Pomp have got to collect the declare to farm animals exclusive grip for CHP and heat-only flora by revising the Renewables Task and dejected the new Renewable Fever Will.
Dr Simone Lowthe-Thomas Wales Biomass Centre, Cardiff academe
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