The Government must review its support of new biomass plants, according to the UK climate change watchdog.
The
Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which advises the Government on
greenhouse gas emissions reduction, said today that subsidies should not be provided to new large scale
biomass power generation and called on the Government to act urgently on
carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration in the UK. The recommendations are part of a new study on
bioenergy, published by the CCC, which concludes that a 10 per cent share of bioenergy in total energy could be required to meet the UK’s target to reduce emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, but even at this level "trade-offs" may be needed because of concerns over its sustainable supply and the
emissions reductions it can achieve.
"The extent to which bioenergy should contribute to economy decarbonisation is highly controversial," said David Kennedy, CCC chief executive. "Our analysis shows that there is a crucial role for bioenergy in meeting carbon budgets, but within strict sustainability limits – and trade-offs with wider environmental and social objectives may be needed."
Bioenergy, which currently accounts for two per cent of UK’s energy mix, comes from harvesting biomass, such as crops and trees, or using organic waste materials, to provide heat, make fuels and generate electricity. But it is controversial because when agricultural land is used to grow biomass rather than
food crops, it can drive up the cost of food. It has also been shown in some cases to increase emissions rather than reduce them.
In its report, the CCC assessed the role of bioenergy both globally and in the UK and concluded that because of such risks, bioenergy needs to deployed with caution in the UK. In particular, it said subsidies should not be provided to new large-scale biomass power generation under the Renewables Obligation (RO) as recently proposed by the Government. Under the RO, these currently receive a 1.5 certificates per megawatt hour (MWh). Instead, it says focus should be on co-firing and conversion of existing coal plants to biomass, which currently receive only one RO certificate per MWh.
"The Government should change its approach to supporting new biomass power generation, which as proposed could raise costs with limited carbon benefits," said Kennedy.
CCS
Because of the costs and emissions associated with dedicated biomass plants, the CCS says any new ones should be fitted with CCS. As such CCS should be demonstrated as "a matter of urgency", the report said.
"CCS should be demonstrated and demonstration projects commenced given the crucial role of this technology when used with bioenergy to meet carbon budgets, " Kennedy said.
Given its concerns over sustainable bioenergy, the CCC recommends other low carbon options such as energy efficiency, wind, nuclear and electric powered cars and heating, should be considered first.
Stronger regulations
In addition, it calls for bioenergy regulatory arrangements in the UK and Europe to be strengthened to provide confidence that bioenergy used over the next decade is sustainable.
It also urges the Government to delay any new UK targets on biofuels and biomass until new regulatory arrangements have been put in place.
The
Renewable Energy Association (REA) said it did not agree with all of the CCC’s findings, arguing biomass was "cheaper, more predictable and created more jobs" than renewable energy technologies such as offshore wind.
"There is a role for power stations using biomass from sustainably produced feedstocks. We expect to see projects coming forward under the Renewables Obligation," said Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of REA.
The CCC said its findings will feed in to the Government’s bioenergy strategy, due to be published early next year.
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