Transforming the market - The true magic of renewable power is that it is largely decentralised. This means more energy can be used locally by households, communities and businesses, which is more efficient than transmitting electricity over great distances. Plus, with the right policies, more energy could actually be owned locally too, revolutionising the traditional supplier- customer model. To realise the full potential of a high-renewables power supply, Government must provide policies to support grid reinforcement, energy storage and local energy ownership.
BIOMASS POWER
A LOW-COST, LOW-CARBON DROP-IN FOR COAL TO BRIDGE THE URGENT CAPACITY GAP
The need for cost effective, low carbon, reliable and flexible generation is going to be key for the UK energy mix to 2020 and beyond. Combined with the need for large scale generation to replace coal fired power stations with securely sourced fuels to keep the lights on, biomass meets many of the challenges policy makers face.
Biomass power can come from a variety of options:
• Wood such as residues, thinnings and forestry by-products, sourced from sustainably managed forests.
• Energy crops such as miscanthus and short rotation forestry. • Agricultural residues such as straw.
For UK generators to qualify for Government support their fuel must meet specified standards. The UK Government’s ‘Sustainability Criteria’ require an independently verified minimum 60% greenhouse gas saving (compared to the EU fossil fuel grid average) across the whole biomass supply chain - including harvesting, processing, storing and transport. This means that biomass must always demonstrate a significant emissions saving compared to fossil fuels.
Biomass is also one of the most cost-effective sources of low carbon power, but needs long term policy certainty for investment in the infrastructure that is supporting the wider biomass industry, as well for developers to access finance to build plants or convert existing coal stations.
Research by DECC shows that including biomass power in the energy mix would reduce the costs of decarbonising our energy system by £44 billion to 2050. There is currently support for some conversion of existing coal plant to burn biomass, although the funding available falls far short of the potential. There are also no plans in the medium or long term to support new standalone power stations. Nor has this been to the benefit of more efficient combined heat and power stations. The combination of the general policy uncertainty and government gold-plating of EU Directives means these projects have also been badly undermined. This is particularly short-sighted as the more use we can make of sustainable biomass the less we will have to rely on fossil fuels to balance the grid.
MANIFESTO ASKS
• Support biomass conversion - Provide sufficient CfD budget to allow sustainable biomass to play its full role in cost-effectively meeting our 2020 targets
• Support new dedicated capacity - Allow standalone biomass to take part in the CfD mechanism
• Reduce EU goldplating - Support CHP by relaxing the UK’s interpretation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in line with other EU states
• Robust standards - The UK Government should encourage the development of robust sustainability standards
• Policy certainty - Grandfather sustainability rules, ensuring developers can seek finance without the hostage to fortune of retrospective changes
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