In the UK, the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has recently published its response to a public consultation on the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme revealing plans to adopt a new significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) threshold for new biomass combined heat and power (CHP) under the scheme."With this decision, the Government has undermined its own energy policies by attacking biomass yet again," says Renewable Energy Association (REA).
In December 2017, the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) opened a public consultation seeking views on a range of proposed changes to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. The UK government has published its response to the consultation revealing plans to adopt a new significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) threshold for biomass combined heat and power (CHP) under the CfD scheme.
According to the Renewable Energy Association (REA), the government’s plan to adopt drastically reduced GHG threshold for new biomass CHP under the CfD scheme will severely limit new biomass CHP projects in the future.
With this decision, the government has undermined its own energy policies by attacking biomass yet again. Just when we need low-cost, flexible power to back up technologies like wind and solar, this decision risks it all. It will make it harder and more expensive to remove coal from the UK power grid said Benedict McAleenan, Head of Biomass UK, part of the REA.
The government plans to adopt a new GHG threshold of 29 kg CO2e / MWh for new biomass CHP under the CfD scheme, which is significantly lower than the 180 CO2e/MWh threshold that will apply from 2025-2030 for existing biomass generators under the Renewable Obligation (RO).
The new threshold represents a requirement of 95.9 percent carbon saving compared to the EU fossil power average. The weighted average GHG emissions for biomass under the Renewable Obligations (RO) for 2016/17 was 97.03 CO2e/MWh.
Developing sustainable, efficient renewable CHP plants will be much more difficult, despite the joined-up value they provide across heat and power sectors. With no coherent strategy on decarbonising heat, the government is undermining a key option. At the same time, just when BEIS and others seem to be waking up to the possibility of negative carbon emissions from bioenergy with CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and storage) they are simultaneously shutting off this market. In summary, the government is shooting itself in the foot on three key policies: energy bills, heat decarbonisation, and carbon capture. A triple whammy, remarked McAleenan.
