07.06.06 Plants to Power our Future
Biomass refers to a range of living or dead plant material, vegetation or agricultural waste which can be used to produce power, heat & steam and fuel through various different processes. Biofuel can be produced by burning biomass and can be used as a more environmentally friendly source of electricity as fewer emissions are released than when burning fossil fuels.
At present only 1% of the UK's electricity and heat generation is from biomass with crops such as elephant grass and coppice willow being burnt to fuel power stations and heat some public buildings. There are several obvious advantages of using biomass for energy generation which should make the government keen to pursue this option of energy generation for the future.
Using crops as an energy source means:
- Carbon emissions are reduced
- New markets are created for farmers to produce the crops
- We can use resources we already have and can produce here - less reliance on imports
As well as these reasons, the increased use of biomass for energy generation would contribute to the government’s targets of producing 10% of electricity from renewables by 2010 and double that by 2020.
The government do seem to be taking biomass energy generation seriously with a 12 point plan announced in April with actions including grants for biomass boilers and a new biomass energy centre opening offering information and advice as well as considering using biomass for heating government buildings.
Fuel company Greenergy Bioenergy Ltd are taking a positive step forward by developing a 30 megawatt biomass power station in Teesside which will start operating next year, burning willow chips, logs, sawmill and recycled timber and producing enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
Like all new developments in the energy industry, there are some negatives. Some people are worried that growing the crops used to power biomass plants will have a negative effect on the lanscape as some of the crops grow to quite a height. Tall crops however seem to me much less of an intrusion than a nuclear plant nearby or even the towering wind turbines of a wind farm on your doorstep.
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ALL OF EUROPE SHOULD FOLOW SWEDEN FOOT STEPS ,
Posted by Joe Laniado, 11th October 2006ONLY IN A FASTER STEPS ,
THE REDUCTION OF CO2 EMISSION ,
AND THE USES , OF ALTERNATIVE
ENERGETIC SOURCES .