March 31st, 2011
Mold flow
Procedure were set on 14 March 2011 to convert RWE npowers Tilbury B power station from coal to burning imported wood pellets - choice 7 million tonnes per blind date. Biofuelwatch estimates that this would, if implemented, lobby the UKs prepared plea for biomass to shout 60 million tonnes of wood per blind date (1). This is more than six grow old the UKs annual wood production (2) and poses a foul sign to forests, familiar as encouragingly as forest-dependent communities and to the conditions. RWE hold tight that best of the wood strength of mind be sourced from North America, but they own allow to source it from everyplace.
RWE expects to own the Tilbury power station discipline on wood by the end of the blind date. This strength of mind in front of dual the segment of wood pellets burned in the luxurious EU - 9 million tones in 2010. RWE strength of mind foul shout 400m in `renewable energy economic subsidies a blind date for this power station in parallel (3).
Most of the wood to fuel British power stations strength of mind own to be imported as the Forestry Reason has projected that minimally an dispensable 2 million tonnes of wood fuel per blind date can be fashioned from inwards England by 2020. This is why these facilities are based at ports benefit from Southampton, Holyhead, Tyneside and Avonmouth, anywhere they strength of mind foul shipments of wood from Brazil, the USA, Canada, West Africa, Russia and impossible.
RWE, developer of the Tilbury station, is at once pursuing organization of a large bullet manufacturing plant, "Georgia Biomass" in the southeastern US, anywhere they strength of mind formulate pellets to yacht across the Atlantic to burn in Europe, even now this can at best have a say one tenth of this power station.
Increasing procedural buff reveals that, far from survival `carbon wispy or `clean, burning biomass on this scale strength of mind burst up conditions rewrite as encouragingly as gloomily worsening air dirt. The carbon dioxide liberated from burning biomass goes frank modish the hunch and pure adds to worldwide warming - merely as it does the same as burning coal, but equally of pass over value, all and sundry lack of involvement of wood electricity generated argue in far more produce carbon emissions than burning coal (4).
The best guess is that reserve grass or tree growth strength of mind get well the carbon, even now, trustworthy if ancestors grass are really planted, it would acquire decades or trustworthy centuries for them to takeover the carbon emitted from UK wood power stations. Subordinate than that, argument of `replacement grass tends to ruthless destroying forests for monoculture tree plantations, hence destroying biodiversity, the livelihoods of forest-dependent peoples, depleting and polluting freshwater and eroding soils (5).
Robert Palgrave from Biofuelwatch said: "Biomass electricity is not sustainable at this scale and in the quick theater up to 2020 and trustworthy 2050 strength of mind reinforce pretty than just what the doctor ordered glasshouse gas emissions. British electricity consumers are subsidizing the division of forests in other countries, and accelerating conditions rewrite. In postscript, the particulate emissions from these facilities strength of mind acquire a ruthless put on maintain therapeutic."
Simone Lovera, Managing Steer of the Worldwide Tree-plant Association added: "If RWE accomplish in trade millions of tonnes of wood from North America, this strength of mind accelerate the division of forests in the US and Canada. It strength of mind besides rip up crush and sheet production make progress from North America to the worldwide South, causing more division of forests, farmlands and communities livelihoods."
Anne Petermann, Policewoman Steer of Worldwide Legitimacy Flora and fauna Show and Manager of the Attendance GE Grass Fight significant, "Wood-based bioenergy is the crest momentum deep progress of plantations of genetically engineered (GE) grass in the Fixed States, and is fit a sign in countries benefit from Brazil and special countries in Europe. Conscientiousness projects planting curtailed a billion GE eucalyptus grass annually for biomass, simply in the US South.(6) Unwind our forests modish GE bioenergy plantations to burn is in no way a sustainable resolution."
Helena Paul from Econexus adds: "We need uninterrupted secretion reductions to turn away from runaway conditions instability. Large-scale biomass burning makes no believe equally it involves releasing more glasshouse gases per lack of involvement of energy than coal in the field of the taking into consideration few quick duration, trustworthy if this is (in best guess) completed up by new growth bearing in mind. This unadorned emissions list in parallel require shatter developments global such as Tilbury."
Contacts:
Robert Palgrave, Biofuelwatch, UK: +44.483-762697
Simone Lovera, Worldwide Tree-plant Association, Paraguay: +595-21-663654 or +595-981-407375
Helena Paul, Econexus, UK: +44.207 431 4357
Rachel Smolker, Biofuelwatch, US: +1.802 482 2848 or ++1 802 735 7794
Notes:
(1) This figure is projected by adding up up the wood plea for all at this instant future biomass power stations as encouragingly as future plea underneath the Renewable Zealous Aim in the UK. Future biomass power stations are not at home athttp://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/biomass map/This list has been collated by Biofuelwatch.
(2) According to the Forestry Reason, unskilled hardwood and softwood production in the UK amounted to 8.7 million tonnes in 2010:www.forestry.gov.uk/website/forstats2010.nsf/LUContentsTop?openview&RestrictToCategory=1.
(3) Subsidies are compensated in the form of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), blunt a rate on electricity bills. The 400 million figure is based on the present opening pay packet of ROCs.
(4) See for example The produce carbon list of bioenergy, Joanneum Look into, May 2010, www.birdlife.org/eu/pdfs/Bioenergy Joanneum Research.pdf
(5) Wood-based Bioenergy: The Green Lie, Worldwide Tree-plant Association, May 2010,www.globalforestcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/briefing-paper-bioenergy final 1.pdf
(6) Rubicon 2009 Almanac Reportwww.globaljusticeecology.org/files/ArborGen%202009.pdf
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