REPOWER – INSIGHTS FROM INDUSTRY REQ
Should Government do more to back renewables technology?
S
timulating development of renewables technology is supposed to be an objective of Government. Solutions based on British design and engineering
will replace imports, but also stimulate growth, create jobs and boost exports. Clearfleau is one of a number of UK companies developing innovative solutions. The company’s on-site facilities convert bio- degradable food and beverage production residues into biogas, allowing cleansed water to be discharged to a water course or recycled.
A leading provider of anaerobic digestion
for industrial sites, Clearfleau plants are located where production residues are generated. They are tailored to the specific site but can treat a range of food and beverage by-products (also biofuel residues). It makes environmental and commercial sense to digest such materials on-site where energy can be used, rather than moving them to centralised sites.
Although the UK has lagged behind our EU competitors in adopting sustainable technologies, the pace of innovation has increased with support from bodies like TSB and WRAP. Decentralised, locally deployable systems based on innovative British technology will stimulate economic growth. Government agencies should recognise that British engineering offers an alternative to longer established suppliers from other EU member states and elsewhere. This is an issue for anaerobic digestion, a technology used in Britain for a number of
years, initially on farms and water treatment sites. Now plants designed to divert bio- degradable waste from landfill are getting larger and more complex. Developers (mainly using imported technology) are building digesters to serve our urban conurbations. However, many existing merchant plants are not making the returns expected by investors. Centralised facilities have a role, although smaller on-site plants located where waste is generated may have greater growth potential. However, this sector is being undermined by Government. Some wastes and production residues are better treated close to where they are produced. On-site plants provide energy for businesses and communities. So it is of concern that some local authorities are imposing centralised urban solutions on our rural areas (resulting in unnecessary ‘waste miles’), with little regard to local needs and public concerns.
Ministers should support British companies developing
innovative solutions, says Clearfleau’s Richard Gueterbock
Now, with increasing confusion about the commitment of the current government to developing the renewable energy sector and the mess that has been made by DECC of the incentive regime, British companies face an uncertain future, with jobs and shareholders’ capital at risk. Ministers and officials have ignored damage being done to companies in a sector where Britain was leading the development of more efficient on-site solutions. Increasingly this government seems to intent on creating a market for better established overseas suppliers, some using dated technology with limited UK content. EU competition rules limit how national
governments can support their industrial sectors, but greater imagination and less prevarication about the incentive regime is required. The UK should focus on areas where it can identify, develop or exploit a
technical lead, for instance: l On-site renewables for smaller businesses and communities
l Low carbon transport technologies suited to rural areas
l Fuel cell technology and hydrogen based energy solutions
l Devices that facilitate energy conservation in older buildings
l Low carbon buildings with a lighter environmental impact Clearfleau will continue to build plants in
the food, dairy, distillery and bio-fuels sectors. We hope to welcome DECC Minister Amber Rudd to the on-site AD plant at Nestle Fawdon early in the New Year. It is likely she will be pressed to do more to support the development of British renewables technology!
REQ
Richard Gueterbock is Marketing and Communications Director at Clearfleau
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0) 844 477 6292
www.clearfleau.com
On-site AD plant being commissioned in Speyside
24 REQ RENEWABLE ENERGY QUARTERLY |
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WINTER 2014
www.r-e-a.net
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