An increasing number of companies are producing biomass fuel in the Northwest.
Businesses supplying wood biomass in the Northwest of England have expanded greatly over the pass three years, with a 75 per cent increase in the turnover of wood products that can produce fuel, according to business support agency Envirolink Northwest.
Companies in the
Northwest process and supply over 3.5 million tonnes of
wood products each year, more than any other region said Nigel Blandford, senior business development manager,
Biomass,
Envirolink Northwest.
Blandford cites geography as one of the main reasons for the strong concentration in the Northwest because there are large, consistent quantities of fuel and demand for the product. Markets were already in place for chip board and medium density fiberboard providing the logistics and supply chain to make it easy to switch over to biomass production.
"All of the major suppliers are Northwest based," Blandford said.
Biomass suppliers
AW Jenkinson Forest Products is one such company. It mainly supplies wood chips to large power stations in the UK. At the smaller end of the market, wood pellets, which are denser and can be transported easily, are produced by companies such as Billington Biofuels.
While processing and distribution is centred in the Northwest, materials processed there are drawn from Southern Scotland, Northern England and Northern Wales. Blandford said it was difficult to gauge just how much comes for various regions, but some materials are still generated in the Northwest.
Once processed, the biomass can be used anywhere. In the past two years, some of that material has been exported to continental Europe, which has been good for the local economy because of the exchange rate.
"The one thing about biomass in the
renewable energy mix is that it’s very different in that it’s a fuel," Blandford said.
Biomass has the advantage of being easily transported, unlike wind and solar power that are better suited to specific environments.
"It can be produced and transported, and then used at another point when it’s needed," said Blandford.
Envirolink Northwest has has just compiled its second edition of the
Biomass Fuel Supply Directory for Northwest England, which includes 33 different companies.
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