Extracts from the March-April 2003 edition of Renew
These extracts only represent about 25% of it

4. Biomass Revives?

The10MW ARBRE project in Yorkshire may still be stalled, but a new flagship project may yet take over. A prototype 2.5MW wood chip powered plant is to receive more than £2 million of Government funding. the DTI commented that ‘If successful, the plant at Castle Cary, Somerset could be the first in a new fleet of green power plants across the UK’. The £6.43m plant- to be developed by Bronzeoak Wellman Ltd- will generate 2.5 MW of electricity- enough to power 2500 homes. It uses established single stage gasification technology which turns the wood chips into a combustible gas which then fuels a turbine to generate electricity.

Certainly, given the technological problems that bedevilled the novel ARBRE combined cycle system, it is good to see that, as Earthed (Jan. 2003) noted, the new plant ‘will use proven gasification technology provided by West Midlands-based Wellman Group, whose Process Engineering subsidiary has been producing gasifiers using coke and anthracite fuel since the 1920’s. The company has developed a gasifier specifically designed for wood chip fuel.’ Lets hope this one works!

Energy Minister Brian Wilson was clearly confident. ‘This could be a flagship project for energy plants which use biomass as their source of fuel in both domestic and export markets. This project is particularly exciting because the plant uses new technology, and will increase efficiency. This is vital if the costs of this industry are to go down.’

According to Earthed, the new plant ‘will burn wood chip sourced from farmers and sawmills within a 40km radius’, and Wilson recognised that this was going to be a key issue for the future. "To help biomass really take off a new supply chain must be built. I want to ensure that the UK revolution in renewable energy brings with it jobs and that is exactly why I have set up ‘Renewables UK’, a Government body tasked with securing maximum benefits for British manufacturers from the rapidly growing worldwide green energy market."

Bronzeoak Wellman told Earthed they expected the plant to be ready in 2004.

The Biomass programme

The DTI supports biofuels through its Research & Development programme. The programme has worked on a range of projects including field trials of energy crops and development and installation of cost efficient biofuel conversion technologies.

Research ranges from conventional combustion to advanced conversion technologies, including gasification and pyrolysis. Environmental monitoring of biomass plant has also been a significant feature of the R&D programme to date.

The further deployment of bioenergy in the UK is also supported by £66m Capital Grants Scheme made available for electricity, heat and CHP plant by DTI and the New Opportunities Fund, and the £32.5m for energy crops establishment and infrastructure made available by DEFRA. The Capital Grants should lead to at least 100MW of electricity from biomass and significant penetration of biomass in the heat market in the UK.

* to provide a new focus for the industry, British Biogen has launched a Biomas Alliance