No Southampton Biomass

It is a very confusing industry when you research Biomass. It appears the old UK government wanted to reduce carbon emissions by set time frames and put about policy to encourage this through the use of sustainable energy supply.

The current government is yet to confirm the new plans and as such it seems to a "non expert" researching this subject that energy companies are attempting to push through profit generating projects on the back of previous government legislation under a big green umbrella, with no fixed regulations to ensure that Biomass is sustainable, environmentally friendly and generally helping maintain a neutral carbon cycle.

The theory goes that Biomass fuels only release the carbon they extracted from the atmosphere during the growing process when burnt thus not adding any extra carbon than was already there. The only issue with this is that there are associated carbon issues with the harvesting, processing and delivery of the Biomass fuel with carbon being used from fossil fuel sources at all points.

The initial construction will have a very heavy carbon footprint when you think of the fossil fuel use in the manufacturing of the materials for the construction and build plus the actual build process itself. There are no statistics on the carbon/fossil fuel use in the creation of such a large power plant in the first place and how many years it will take before this initial carbon/fossil fuel resource use was made up for in fossil fuel use reduction gains.

As such it can be seriously questioned whether this is a true low carbon solution or something that looks good as a project but when closely analised has more holes than a cheese grater!

 

All current investigations into the carbon merits of Biomass state the source of the fuel is the most crucial element in determining the carbon impact. The closer the source of Biomass fuel to the power plant the nearer to carbon neutral the plant moves.

The concerns with the Southampton Biomass project is the only mention of local, UK sourced fuel refers to where available and commercially viable - what this means is the majority source of the fuel will be commercially produced Biomass from European and American sources that then has all the transport and questionable sustainability issues that go with it.

This is one of the concerns with the Carbon Neutral affect of the Biomass Sources. If wood is coming at the detriment of other countries citizens and eco systems can it be classed as green and beneficial. For commercial viability processed Biomass Fuels increase efficiency so when waste is burned in the form of condensed pellets it is more economical for the energy companies, regardless of the overall carbon used to harvest, refine and then transport Biomass fuels for burning - thus your supposed Green neutral carbon fuel source could actually have a heavier carbon footprint than conventional fossil fuel power stations!

There is also the issue of other contaminants being introduced to the Biomass fuel source eg the use of nitrogen based fertilisers to aid growth will mean harmful nitrogen is then introduced to the output of the Biomass power station - definitely not environmentally friendly...

 

As a resident of the immediate area and someone who classes himself as normal everyday person that understands the need to move towards green without being an outright green activist I can honestly say that a well thought and planned Biomass project does seem to have added benefits over fossil fuel power sources.

What concerns me is the lack of commitment or assurances of a sustainable system that will actually reduce the emissions of stored carbon deposits within fossil fuels. Regardless of this plants merits the location is totally unacceptable but it would be good if some thought could be put in to ensuring these Biomass plants are actually green and environmentally friendly.

I would like to see exact plans that state where locally and sustainable fuel sources are coming from to maximise the carbon neutralness of the energy production - no wooly if commercially viable blah, blah, blah - Yes we looked nothing was commercially viable now lets get the most cost effective/revenue generating source of Biomass fuel in regardless of carbon impact...

Nothing in the proposed Southampton Biomass Power plans indicates any thorough thought or planning in where the UK sources will be derived from or a commitment for the majority source of Biomass Fuel to be locally and sustainably sourced - In fact the proposal is based on the majority coming in via the port system.

As we know from recent investigations into other industries - it is one thing saying responsibly sourced and ethical, the truth is usually quite worrying in that 3rd world countries have less stringent guides and working practices that could seriously damage there local environments causing an environmentally worse global impact than the local UK green benefit.

 

Generating Energy from Biomass:

The Environment Agency believes that the biomass heat and power sector can play a key role in helping the UK meet its renewable energy and greenhouse gas commitments. To deliver this however, the sector needs to use sustainable feedstocks and maximise greenhouse gas reductions.

We regulate the operation of combustion plant above a specific threshold under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. These Regulations implement the IPPC Directive and Large Combustion Plants Directives which address the control of pollution caused by emissions from the combustion plant rather than the source of the fuel.

We believe that Government policies supporting the bio-energy sector, notably the Renewable Heat Incentive and the Renewables Obligation, should include sustainability criteria to ensure that unsustainable fuels are not used. We are encouraged that a consultation on this subject has been announced by the Government and will continue to push for a solution to the problem of unsustainable fuels.