8 UK roundup
UK Bio-energy progress
Asked in Feb. about progress with the bio-energy capital grants scheme,
Science and Innovation Minister Malcolm Wicks reported that, in addition
to the original £66m scheme, joint-funded by DTI and the National
Lottery’s New Opportunities Fund, in 2006, the National Lottery-now
the Big Lottery Fund- used unallocated funds of £2.2m to provide
a second competitive round of funding and awarded 7 more grants last
Sept. And that, in Dec.2006, Defra announced a five-year continuation
of the scheme to support the installation of biomass-fuelled heat and
combined heat and power (CHP) projects in the industrial, commercial
& community sectors in England, with £10-£15m available
for the first 2 years: this funding round is currently open for applications.
Results: So far there have been 30 or so projects supported at various
scales, but in the event the funding offer for the £10m 22MWe
United Utilities/Herefordshire Biomass Project was declined, as was
the £3.8m offer for Bronzeoak 6.9MWe/1.5MWTh Biomass Combined
Cycle Gasification CHP Plant in Somerset. And Peninsula Powers 22MW
Winkleigh Biomass project in Devon had its £11m offer withdrawn.
Amongst the larger successes are Enron’s Teeside £12m 30MWe
project (now run by SembCorp Utilities), the £18m Powergen (now
E.ON Renewables) 30MWe Biomass Fuelled Electricity plant at Killingholme,
Lincs (then moved to Lockerbie), the £4.5m 10MWe Port Talbot Bio-Energy
Plant, and the £2m 2MWe/10MWth Balcas wood fired CHP plant in
N. Ireland. EPRL’s £5m 5MWe/26MWth Corpach Biomass Plant
at Fort William is at the planning stage.
There were also some smaller projects getting up to £1m including
local ‘biomass cluster’ projects from Econergy (Ecoheat
Clusters) and Wood Energy (SW/Lincs), Rural Energy (East Midlands Wood
Heating Network). The SE Regional Wood Heat Supply Company, Biomass
for Sustainable Development, Buccleuch Bioenergy and Welsh Biofuels
Ltd. also got funds. In addition there are several projects for industrial
and commercial biomass heating including Econergys Industrial Ecoheat
Development Project, RENU’s Nottinghamshire Woodheat Project and
Torren Energy’s Scottish Biomass Heat Clusters. Following round
2 in 2006 there are a further seven projects that are being supported
by the National Lottery Big Lottery Fund. And seven heat only projects
have been recommended for funding, plus one further CHP plant.
All in all, with the above coming to around 100MW, biomass is beginning
to move, though most of these project use residues/wastes rather than
energy crops.
* DRAX The Drax coal fired power plant in Yorkshire- focus of anti-carbon
protests- made a large profit last year, but has promised to expand
co-firing with biomass to 10%. That would require up to 400,000 hectrares
of energy crop plantations.
Mersey Tidal power
The Mersey river’s strong tides and currents could be used to
produce significant amounts of renewable energy in the future, according
to study led by consultants Buro Happold which over the last year has
been evaluating a variety of possible technologies. Although tidal turbines
are being looked at, another option being considered is a updated version
of the traditional waterwheel.
Peter Guthrie, Cambridge University Professor of Engineering for Sustainable
Development commented: ‘The whole principle of the study is that
the technologies under consideration must be proven, but they would
be used in a new environment. We are trying to be innovative and novel
but also reduce the risk to a minimum. A staged approach is appealing
in terms of speed, practicality and affordability. Waterwheels produce
less energy than marine current turbines, but they are robust and require
low maintenance.’
According to the study, which is co-sponsored by Peel Holdings, owner
of Mersey Docks & Harbour Company and Liverpool John Lennon airport,
and the NW Regional Development Agency, the Mersey is one of the best
locations for marine energy given its 8-10 metre tidal range and powerful
tidal currents.
250 Solar low cost Houses
The UK housing group, Places For People, is to install solar panels
on 250 of its affordable homes. It has linked with solar panel manufacturer,Viridian
Solar, in the single largest commitment to installing solar by a UK
housing group. The first 50 systems will be installed this summer at
McCutcheon Court in Newcastle. Places for People is responsible for
60,000 properties across Britain, and warns that the threat posed by
climate change can be tackled only if greater financial incentives are
made available to housing groups and people on low incomes.
Lords all at Sea
A House of Lords debate on 22 Jan. focussed on the dangers to navigation
posed by the now consented wind farm development off the Kent and Essex
coasts. Lord Truscott, for the DTI, claimed that the relevant issues
‘were discussed with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and have
either been addressed or will be further addressed as part of a consent
condition’.
Lord Higgins however was not reassured ‘Why are the Government
determined to add to the dangers of navigation in the channel by ignoring
the risk that supertankers and other vessels, often sailing under flags
of convenience with masters who are not familiar with the channel and
whose radar is distorted by the wind turbines, will crash into the turbines
and create repeated environmental disasters? Why were consultations
not completed before a decision was reached? What distance between the
98 square mile wind farm and the navigational channels do the Government
regard as safe in view of the present circumstances?’
Lord Truscott responded: ‘The Government consulted the MCA on
radar reflection, and I am satisfied that the issue can be managed’
adding that in relation to the London Array ‘very few vessels
currently cross the wind farm site, so its presence should not add significantly
to navigation congestion. The north-west boundary of the wind farm,
facing Black Deep, will be in the shallower areas, so mariners will
seek to avoid it. There is a minimum of 650 metres between turbines,
so we cannot rule out the possibility that some vessels may be able
to turn in the wind farm itself, should that be necessary.’
Lord Redesdale waded in on this, suggesting that ‘one of the
reasons for siting the London Array in its present position was because
the water is so shallow and the cost of constructing wind turbines in
shallow water is a great deal lower’. In which case ‘would
not a captain of a supertanker who dared to try and cross the area at
the moment be prosecuted for putting his vessel in danger, because he
would ground it?’
Lord Truscott replied ‘large vessels can use the Black Deep channel
so there is no danger of them running aground. Moreover, the fact that
mariners can see the wind farm helps them not to get into difficulties,
as they would wish to avoid it. They would also wish to avoid the sandbank
in that part of the channel, so I do not see this as a major obstacle.’
Defra’s Marine Bill White Paper is now out- it includes offshore
Renewables. Details in Renew 168
UK Energy R&D funding
A recent reply to a Parliamentary question reported that Government
R&D spending on renewable energy for 1997-98 was around £7m
via the Research councils and around £6.2m via Government Departments
(DTI, DEFRA, DfT). For 2005-06 it had risen to £15.8m and £11.
8m respectively. However it was noted that the Research Councils also
spent £16.6 million in 1997-98 and £20.6m in 2005-06 on
nuclear fusion research. They are also providing funding of £13.88m
over the period 2004-09 for the UK Energy Research Centre (which undertakes
a range of research relating to sustainable and renewable energy) and
£15.8m over the period 2000-08 to the Tyndall Centre for Climate
Change research (which includes some research on renewable energy).
In addition ‘the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research
Councils estimate that access for energy research to its facilities
accounted for £4.5m in 2005-06,’ and the Government ‘also
funds the Carbon Trust, which provides support for research into low
carbon energy activities amongst other activities’.
However, in its latest funding round the DTI has cut support for the
Research Councils by £68m to compensate for unexpected other expenditure-
including it seems the bail out of nuclear generator British Energy
and the NDA’s shortfall (see section 11) . The biggest cut is
£29m for EPSRC but NERC also loses £9.7m.
UK Climate Research funding
In 2005-06, total DEFRA climate science research spending, on the risk
of human-induced climate change and assessing its potential impacts
and means of adaptation and mitigation, was £15.7 million.
Source: Parliamentary Answer, Jan 8th
Meanwhile though, Sir Richard Branson is offering a $25m prize for the
best way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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