Tag Archives: alternative
Big Coal –> Big Biomass At The U.K.’s Drax Power Station
By Share Print Situated on the River Ouse, the Drax Power Station provides about 7% of the United Kingdom’s electricity supply. With its 4 GW capacity , Drax is the second largest coal-fired power plant in Europe and the U.K.’s number one emitter of carbon dioxide. This spring, facility directors announced that half of the plant’s capacity would be converted to renewable sources. It is expected that, by 2015, the facility will burn 7.5 million metric tons per year of imported biomass (mostly wood pellets from the United States and Canada). Photo Credit: Photo taken on March 20, 2008 by thewritingzone and found using Creative Commons. Continue reading
Stobart Inks Biomass Supply Deal With Green Fund Manager
Stobart inks biomass supply deal with green fund manager 9th September 2013 By Chris Barry – Editor, North West STOBART, the transport and infrastructure group, has announced a boost for its biomass division, which supplies waste to green energy plants. Its Stobart Biomass Products arm has agreed an exclusive deal with fund manager Greensphere Capital for the supply of up to 1,000,000 tonnes of biomass fuel per year into existing and future biomass power plants. Stobart has been working with Greensphere for more than a year and both parties have identified a number of existing and potential biomass projects for possible investment by funds managed by Greensphere. Greensphere Capital will be investing in a national platform of waste biomass power plants, to which its Framework Agreement with Stobart will provide fuel. The firm manages capital on behalf of institutional investors, including the government-backed Green Investment Bank. Stobart said: “The Master Framework Agreement specifies the terms that individual supply contracts with specific plants will adopt and although at present there is no minimum volume commitment the expectation is that volumes will grow over the coming three years, as plants are acquired and developed. “In addition to the income generated by Stobart Biomass for the supply of the fuel the group will generate revenues from transporting the product and from supporting each new project through to commissioning.” Chief executive Andrew Tinkler said “We believe Greensphere is the ideal partner for Stobart Biomass in this rapidly expanding market and whilst we continue to work with a number of other plant developers this agreement promises to underpin a sizeable element of our biomass supply strategy.” Continue reading
Food Price, ILUC Studies Released In Run-Up To EU Biofuel Vote
According to information published by the European Parliament on Sept. 5, draft legal measures to cap traditional biofuel production and accelerate the switch to advanced biofuels will be debated on Sept. 9 and put to vote on Sept. 11. The notice specifies that the legal measures aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result from the increased use of farmland to produce biofuel feedstocks. One proposal from the Environment Committee, drafted by Corinne Lepage, a MEP representing France, calls for a 5.5 percent cap on first-generation biofuels. The Environment Committee also wants new biofuels policy in the EU to include ILUC impacts. Alternatively, the Energy Committee is advocating for a 6.5 percent cap on first-generation biofuels, and is against including ILUC in the legislation. Within the report, the authors assert that their analysis has determined that ILUC emission calculated using the latest version of GTAP—a model that is undergoing near constant revision—are much less than those calculated by International Food Policy Institute (IFPRI). The lower results are attributed to higher yields of new cropland than assumed by IRPRI and the fact that less forest land is converted. EBB Secretary General Raffaello Garofalo said the results of the study questions the validly of including ILUC science in policy making. “Policy makers can no longer deny the immaturity of science to serve for policy making,” he said. According to ePURE, the study examines the casualty between biofuel production, global crop commodity prices and implications for food security, with particular focus on poor regions of the world. The study determines biofuel demand in Europe through 2010 only increased world grain prices by 1-2 percent, and would only increase world grain prices by another 1 percent through 2020 if no cap is placed on first-generation biofuels. The study also stresses that because commodity prices are only a small component of actual food costs, and that local food markets are often disconnected from global markets, the actual impact of biofuel on food prices is far less than 1 percent. Continue reading
