The following has been posted in MRW, and is great news for the future of UK AD.
Financial support for anaerobic digestion
Liz Gyekye, 02 Feb 2010
The Government has announced ambitious plans to provide financial support for anaerobic digestion technologies through feed-in-tariffs (FITs) and the “world’s first” renewable heat incentive scheme.
The schemes are designed to bring about a significant increase in the amount of locally produced green energy and help the UK meet its renewable energy targets.
FITs is a financial support system that will incentivise small scale low-carbon electricity generation by providing “clean energy cashback” for householders, communities and businesses. It will work alongside the Renewables Obligation, which will remain the primary mechanism to incentivise deployment of large-scale renewable electricity generation.
The FITs scheme will start from April 1 and will support new AD plants with a five megawatts limit capacity. The scheme will also support the first 30,000 combined heat and power installations with an electrical capacity of two kilowatts or less, as a pilot programme.
Under the FITs scheme AD operators will be paid for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated and metered by a generator. Farm scale AD operators, producing less than 500kW a year will get 11.5 pence/kWh per year over a 20 year period. AD operators producing more than 500KW will get 9p/kWh.
Speaking at the launch of the FITs scheme in London [February 1], Energy Minister Lord Hunt told MRW that he thought the FITs would encourage more AD plants to be built. He said: “I think that we have made an adjustment in order to make small scale AD more attractive. I think that the farming community will be very welcoming of this news. I very much hope that we will see a big market growing for AD.”
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband added: “Where there is muck there is brass!
“The FIT will change the way householders and communities think about their future energy needs, making the payback for investment far shorter than in the past.”
The Government also launched its consultation on the RHI scheme [February 1].
The RHI scheme is a financial support mechanism for individuals, communities and businesses that aims to incentivise low carbon heating and will be introduced in April 2011.
Under the RHI scheme, the proposed tariff for solid biomass technology operators will be 9p/kWh, biogas on-site combustion plants will get 5.5p/kWh and biomethane injection technology will get 4p/kWh.
Solid biomass can include municipal wastes and biogas can be upgraded to biomethane, which has similar thermal characteristics to natural gas and can be injected into the grid.
Where a plant can generate heat from both renewable and non-renewable fuels, the RHI tariff will only reward the renewable component of the mixed fuel load. The RHI consultation stated that this will usually involve combined heat and power using energy-from-waste.
Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association chair Lord Redesdale said that he was disappointed at the Government’s announcements on FIT and RHI. He said the Government had “horlicked” the whole thing. He explained: “It is unfortunate that the tariff has come in at nine pence which shows a distinct lack of enthusiasm. We thought it was going to be more than this and were hoping for 13p.
“To meet our climate change and renewable energy targets we need as much AD as we can possibly muster. Both the RHI and FITS have not met expectations from industry.
“The purpose of the tariff is to encourage entry in the market place but this is not going to be the case because the tariffs are too low. How many plants will be built out of this next year on this basis? If there is not enough plant going to be built you question whether the whole thing has been a success or not.”
Lord Redesdale also said that the AD industry was concerned with the issue of “grandfathering” of Renewable Obligation Certificates (see MRW story).Government is likely to alter tariffs for new levels for new projects from time to time to respond to changes in technology costs. However, once installation of a project has been completed, investors will consider it important that its support levels are not changed. Such a guarantee not to change support for existing projects is known as grandfathering.
At the moment biomass technologies, such as AD, are not protected through grandfathering.
However, the RHI consultation states: “We are nevertheless inclined to provide the RHI tariffs as grandfathered tariffs.” More...
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Monday, February 01, 2010
US Climate Bill Setback and Clean Development Rethink on Renewable Energy Developments
All those interested in Anaerobic digestion and how demand for the technology might increase over the next few years have no doubt been watching the news on the post Copenhagen Summit devlopments, keenly.
Clearly, the way the US acts now will be important for the prospects of continuation after 2012 of Carbon Credit schemes under the "Clean Development Mechanism", such as the EU ETS. The growth of Anaerobic Digestion based technology utilisation is assured in many developed nations, but I would also would expect to see a surge of advanced technology based AD Plant development in the industrializing nations once the post 2012 Climate Emission Reductions (CERs) become tradable.
The following is a 22 January Reuters post, which provides an update on the US scene:
LONDON (Reuters) - Still reeling from disappointing UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December, clean energy project developers were dealt another blow this week when U.S. Democrats lost their Senate supermajority, potentially killing a federal cap-and-trade scheme for years to come.
Although the passage of a U.S. bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 was far from certain, the election of a Republican in Massachusetts to the Senate on Tuesday derailed any momentum President Obama had following his healthcare push toward introducing a cap-and-trade scheme this year.
This, coupled with a disappointing UN climate summit in the Danish capital last month where leaders from over 190 countries failed to agree a legally-binding pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, is causing concern for some clean energy project developers and forcing them to reassess their game plan.
"I'm not as bullish as I was a year ago," said Sascha Lafeld, an executive board member at First Climate AG. "The U.S. pre-compliance market is cautiously developing, so our strategy is also one of caution ... We're on hold, we'll keep our two U.S. offices open but we're not expanding this year."
Frankfurt-based First Climate has a global project portfolio of some 250 projects, including around 20 projects in the U.S., that generate carbon offsets by cutting carbon dioxide.
Observers say the spotlight in the U.S. now shifts back to state and regional schemes launched by a handful of states during George W. Bush's presidency, when the prospect of a federal U.S. carbon market was a distant mirage.
"It's not ideal but we welcome this as a fallback solution," said Alexander Sarac of JP Morgan-owned EcoSecurities, one of the world's biggest aggregators of carbon offsets.
For the full article visit:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60L4DE20100122
Clearly, the way the US acts now will be important for the prospects of continuation after 2012 of Carbon Credit schemes under the "Clean Development Mechanism", such as the EU ETS. The growth of Anaerobic Digestion based technology utilisation is assured in many developed nations, but I would also would expect to see a surge of advanced technology based AD Plant development in the industrializing nations once the post 2012 Climate Emission Reductions (CERs) become tradable.
The following is a 22 January Reuters post, which provides an update on the US scene:
LONDON (Reuters) - Still reeling from disappointing UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December, clean energy project developers were dealt another blow this week when U.S. Democrats lost their Senate supermajority, potentially killing a federal cap-and-trade scheme for years to come.
Although the passage of a U.S. bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 was far from certain, the election of a Republican in Massachusetts to the Senate on Tuesday derailed any momentum President Obama had following his healthcare push toward introducing a cap-and-trade scheme this year.
This, coupled with a disappointing UN climate summit in the Danish capital last month where leaders from over 190 countries failed to agree a legally-binding pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, is causing concern for some clean energy project developers and forcing them to reassess their game plan.
"I'm not as bullish as I was a year ago," said Sascha Lafeld, an executive board member at First Climate AG. "The U.S. pre-compliance market is cautiously developing, so our strategy is also one of caution ... We're on hold, we'll keep our two U.S. offices open but we're not expanding this year."
Frankfurt-based First Climate has a global project portfolio of some 250 projects, including around 20 projects in the U.S., that generate carbon offsets by cutting carbon dioxide.
Observers say the spotlight in the U.S. now shifts back to state and regional schemes launched by a handful of states during George W. Bush's presidency, when the prospect of a federal U.S. carbon market was a distant mirage.
"It's not ideal but we welcome this as a fallback solution," said Alexander Sarac of JP Morgan-owned EcoSecurities, one of the world's biggest aggregators of carbon offsets.
For the full article visit:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60L4DE20100122
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Manure to Become Megawatts in Newcastle University Project
A £1.85M project looking at techniques of converting farm waste products into electricity is to go ahead in the North East.
A state-of-the-art anaerobic digester which converts manure from pigs and cattle into green electricity is arranged for being installed at Cockle Park Farm by Newcastle College thanks to an £860,000 cash injection from regional improvement agency One North East.
The idea is one of assisting farms turn into far more sustainable businesses, the goal is to join with North East farmers, land managers and other associated organisations to find new means for making renewable electric from waste material.
Ths project is joint funded by the college and One North East through its Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), the anaerobic digester will form a portion on the new Centre for Renewable Energy from Land (CREEL) launched by Newcastle University.
The promoters of this project have put in a good deal of work which has gone into arranging this challenge up to this point, so they say that it is extremely thrilling to have at last received both funding and 3rd party permission for this project.
Anaerobic digestion presents enormous potential in terms of utilizing the methane from animal waste materials and converting it into renewable electric power which will be utilized to heat and supply energy to the buildings on the farm.
By working together using the agricultural business they hope to produce a new means of producing anaerobic digestion and viable technology for uptake by farms throughout the UK.
The residual digestate might be applied being a soil conditioner and a nutrient source and offers considerable probable for farmers to reduce their fertilizer budget. Read more here...
Monday, December 28, 2009
Mechanical Biological Treatment Process with AD Explained
The New Civil Engineer magazine has published (19 November edition 2009) a refreshingly down to earth description of the process which will soon start to mechanically and biologically treat a part of Manchester’s residual (black bag) Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). The following was stated by Peter Harvey in his role as the Business Director of Enpure (Process Engineering). Enpure is the encumbent EPC Contractor, in the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority’s huge city-wide PFI waste management contract.
This multi-billion contract was finally let around about last Easter after extended delays, and not least the problems caused by the credit crunch last Autumn. Under this Contract, Enpure is the EPC Contractor which will provide processing facilities for the PPP Consortium Laing Viridor to operate two MBT Facilities to be built at Reliance Street and Bredbury, under a £57 million Contract.
(In MBT there is always a choice to be made between composting to reduce the activity of the organic material before it goes to landfill, which is of dubious merit, or Anaerobic Digestion which does a better job but requires more investment and some risk of not repaying that investment. - Added by your Blogmaster)
"There are a number of ways that you can biologically treat that [smaller fraction], composting for example, or anaerobic digestion which can then create methane for electricity production. That particular approach [anaerobic digestion] is what we have on our two MBT projects," says Peter Harvey.
The process begins at the materials recovery facility (MRF) whereby black bag [mixed residual] waste (MSW) goes through a very coarse shredder that reduces waste to 250mm to 300mm pieces. At that point the waste is screened and material of less than 80mm (the organic fraction) goes off for anaerobic digestion.
But first it needs further separation. "If we didn't clean it up then grit, pieces of plastic and bits of rubble could cause blockages so we have a very sophisticated wet separation process called the hydro-pulper".
It is this pulper which has not been used before in the UK. It comes from German firm BTA International. "It is a vessel with a high speed impeller in the centre that will transfer any organic material, paper, cardboard, food and organic matter into a sludge, which we can then pass through a screen and into the digesters," says Phil Harvey.
Just under 5MW of electricity will be generated by the Reliance Street and Bredbury facilities to fuel the MBT process and feed back into the grid. "Between these two facilities there is enough to power 10,000 homes from the biogas alone.
As for the larger components, these are sorted for recycling in the case of metals and plastics, or for sending on as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to Runcorn [for incineration].
The fraction above 80mm is then put through a density separation process so that we can eliminate any hardcore material from that size fraction.
Then there is metals removal. After this it is shredded to 30mm ready for RDF production.
We also have an air knife which blows off plastics into the RDF as well.
At Reliance Street the treatment process will handle 100,000t of waste per annum, but only 63,000t of this will go through the MBT plant. The rest, larger particles over 45mm, is sorted out and sent off for recycling.
"The only real difference between the two sites is the degree of sorting that happens before the wet preparation stage," says Peter Harvey.
Of course with plants handling so much waste material and especially the Anaerobic Digestion present, there has clearly and quite understandably been much concern about odours.
Because Reliance Street is right in the city it uses a sophisticated odour control process called regenerative thermal oxidation. The odour is collected via ducts and blown into the treatment system which uses heat in the presence of a catalyst to thermally oxidise the odorous compounds in the air. The heat from the treated air is captured using silicon tiles.
"Bredbury has a more conventional odour system, we operate the buildings under negative pressure so that if there are any leaks they go into the building rather than out and all that air is treated with biofilters," says Peter Harvey.
This multi-billion contract was finally let around about last Easter after extended delays, and not least the problems caused by the credit crunch last Autumn. Under this Contract, Enpure is the EPC Contractor which will provide processing facilities for the PPP Consortium Laing Viridor to operate two MBT Facilities to be built at Reliance Street and Bredbury, under a £57 million Contract.
(In MBT there is always a choice to be made between composting to reduce the activity of the organic material before it goes to landfill, which is of dubious merit, or Anaerobic Digestion which does a better job but requires more investment and some risk of not repaying that investment. - Added by your Blogmaster)
"There are a number of ways that you can biologically treat that [smaller fraction], composting for example, or anaerobic digestion which can then create methane for electricity production. That particular approach [anaerobic digestion] is what we have on our two MBT projects," says Peter Harvey.
The process begins at the materials recovery facility (MRF) whereby black bag [mixed residual] waste (MSW) goes through a very coarse shredder that reduces waste to 250mm to 300mm pieces. At that point the waste is screened and material of less than 80mm (the organic fraction) goes off for anaerobic digestion.
But first it needs further separation. "If we didn't clean it up then grit, pieces of plastic and bits of rubble could cause blockages so we have a very sophisticated wet separation process called the hydro-pulper".
It is this pulper which has not been used before in the UK. It comes from German firm BTA International. "It is a vessel with a high speed impeller in the centre that will transfer any organic material, paper, cardboard, food and organic matter into a sludge, which we can then pass through a screen and into the digesters," says Phil Harvey.
Just under 5MW of electricity will be generated by the Reliance Street and Bredbury facilities to fuel the MBT process and feed back into the grid. "Between these two facilities there is enough to power 10,000 homes from the biogas alone.
As for the larger components, these are sorted for recycling in the case of metals and plastics, or for sending on as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to Runcorn [for incineration].
The fraction above 80mm is then put through a density separation process so that we can eliminate any hardcore material from that size fraction.
Then there is metals removal. After this it is shredded to 30mm ready for RDF production.
We also have an air knife which blows off plastics into the RDF as well.
At Reliance Street the treatment process will handle 100,000t of waste per annum, but only 63,000t of this will go through the MBT plant. The rest, larger particles over 45mm, is sorted out and sent off for recycling.
"The only real difference between the two sites is the degree of sorting that happens before the wet preparation stage," says Peter Harvey.
Of course with plants handling so much waste material and especially the Anaerobic Digestion present, there has clearly and quite understandably been much concern about odours.
Because Reliance Street is right in the city it uses a sophisticated odour control process called regenerative thermal oxidation. The odour is collected via ducts and blown into the treatment system which uses heat in the presence of a catalyst to thermally oxidise the odorous compounds in the air. The heat from the treated air is captured using silicon tiles.
"Bredbury has a more conventional odour system, we operate the buildings under negative pressure so that if there are any leaks they go into the building rather than out and all that air is treated with biofilters," says Peter Harvey.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Exciting Opportunities Arising from UK Government Low Carbon Strategy
The following is an extract from the Enviros Consulting September 2009 Briefing Note on the UK's Low Carbon Strategy:
The UK government has announced a number of financial drivers and measures to remove barriers to deployment of more renewables, as part of their low carbon strategy.
This rapidly growing industry will bring opportunities for many of our customers. Nonfinancial measures include a new planning PPS, measures to improve grid access and a new Office for Renewable Energy Deployment.
However the main drivers announced are the financial ones outlined below.
The Renewables Heat Incentive
- The Renewables Heat Incentive will deliver a staggering 72TWh/yr of heat by 2020 from biomass, solar, heat pumps and biomethane
- The policy to be in place from April 2011
- It will give guaranteed payments to those generating heat from renewables – domestic through to industrial scales
- We should expect a fixed rate paid on energy yield and cost of plant – not on CO2 emissions saved
UK Government will consult at the end of this year on scheme details and on fundamentals including levels of funding and how the levy to fund it will work
Installations from 15 July 2009 onwards will qualify for payments though there will be environmental standards and a qualification scheme for installers.
Measures to support electricity from renewables
The plans for financial support for renewable electricity has been presented in a separate consultation paper
Renewable Electricity Financial Incentives.
There are some detailed changes to the Renewables Obligation (ROC) regime that will impact larger generators and are designed to bolster confidence in this support mechanism.
However, perhaps the most significant announcement is of a new mechanism known as Feed in Tariffs (FIT).
As presented in the consultation paper FITs:
• Will give significant payments to small scale renewables – up to 5MW but with much higher payments for micro-renewables
• Will come into operation from April 2010 with consultation closing Oct 09 (though schemes built from 15 July 2009 will qualify)
• Will support delivery of up to 2% of our electricity by 2020
• Will pay the tariff for every unit of generation (whether used on site or not) aiming to give investors 5-8% internal rate of return (IRR)
• A FIT contract would be for 20 years, index linked and transferable from person to person
• Fix the price that will be paid for power exported at reasonable level (5p/kWh suggested)
• Will be paid by those supplying the site with electricity to the site of generation.
Payments proposed are much higher than anything seen in the UK so far.
For example a householder installing a retrofit domestic scale solar panel would get 36.5p/kWh for all the generation from the panel, would enjoy free electricity from it while using it and would get a suggested 5p/kWh for electricity exported (income tax free).
Other Opportunities
The Low Carbon Transport Strategy and the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy will give other opportunities to those sectors of the industry.
The transport strategy proposes that the proportion of biofuels being blended with petrol and diesel be increased to 10% by 2020 in line with the EU directive.
This is a huge increase in the amount of liquid biofuels required and could offer opportunities for farmers.
However, it is recognised that there are potentially negative food security and environmental issues associated with this policy and we can expect increasingly stringent controls on sourcing of liquid biofuels.
The transport strategy also outlines measures to reduce transport emissions by:
• Improving the efficiency of new vehicles (cars, vans and buses)
• Electrifying more of the rail network
• Facilitating the use of electric vehicles – including the offer of financial support to purchase them
• Encouraging more walking, cycling and low carbon travel habits • Working on international agreements on shipping and aviation.
The Low Carbon Industrial Strategy recognises the opportunities for UK industry and commerce. To maximise the opportunities, the government intends to remove barriers to making the changes and has announced £405 million of support:
• £120 million will be used to develop offshore wind
• £60 million to develop wave and tidal power
• £6 million to contract “60 or more” low carbon affordable homes
• £10 million increase, from £20 million to £30 million, for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and £25 million Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme • £4 million expansion of the Manufacturing Advisory Service
• £12 million for green chemicals/sustainable biotechnology
• £15 million nuclear advanced manufacturing research centre
• £150 million for UK Innovation Investment Fund -> £1billion in 10 years.
How Enviros can help
This is an exciting time for initiatives in the low carbon sector and with these recent papers, the Government’s direction and support is now clear.
With the ‘step change’ represented by these papers some projects that were not previously viable now may well be. Enviros have over 30 years of experience in this field so have the skills, knowledge and expertise needed to be able to support you as you work to make the ‘low carbon transition’ needed or capitalise on the opportunities presented, whether you are working in the public or the private sector.
Get your FREE copy of the full Low Carbon Strategy briefing document here.
The UK government has announced a number of financial drivers and measures to remove barriers to deployment of more renewables, as part of their low carbon strategy.
This rapidly growing industry will bring opportunities for many of our customers. Nonfinancial measures include a new planning PPS, measures to improve grid access and a new Office for Renewable Energy Deployment.
However the main drivers announced are the financial ones outlined below.
The Renewables Heat Incentive
- The Renewables Heat Incentive will deliver a staggering 72TWh/yr of heat by 2020 from biomass, solar, heat pumps and biomethane
- The policy to be in place from April 2011
- It will give guaranteed payments to those generating heat from renewables – domestic through to industrial scales
- We should expect a fixed rate paid on energy yield and cost of plant – not on CO2 emissions saved
UK Government will consult at the end of this year on scheme details and on fundamentals including levels of funding and how the levy to fund it will work
Installations from 15 July 2009 onwards will qualify for payments though there will be environmental standards and a qualification scheme for installers.
Measures to support electricity from renewables
The plans for financial support for renewable electricity has been presented in a separate consultation paper
Renewable Electricity Financial Incentives.
There are some detailed changes to the Renewables Obligation (ROC) regime that will impact larger generators and are designed to bolster confidence in this support mechanism.
However, perhaps the most significant announcement is of a new mechanism known as Feed in Tariffs (FIT).
As presented in the consultation paper FITs:
• Will give significant payments to small scale renewables – up to 5MW but with much higher payments for micro-renewables
• Will come into operation from April 2010 with consultation closing Oct 09 (though schemes built from 15 July 2009 will qualify)
• Will support delivery of up to 2% of our electricity by 2020
• Will pay the tariff for every unit of generation (whether used on site or not) aiming to give investors 5-8% internal rate of return (IRR)
• A FIT contract would be for 20 years, index linked and transferable from person to person
• Fix the price that will be paid for power exported at reasonable level (5p/kWh suggested)
• Will be paid by those supplying the site with electricity to the site of generation.
Payments proposed are much higher than anything seen in the UK so far.
For example a householder installing a retrofit domestic scale solar panel would get 36.5p/kWh for all the generation from the panel, would enjoy free electricity from it while using it and would get a suggested 5p/kWh for electricity exported (income tax free).
Other Opportunities
The Low Carbon Transport Strategy and the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy will give other opportunities to those sectors of the industry.
The transport strategy proposes that the proportion of biofuels being blended with petrol and diesel be increased to 10% by 2020 in line with the EU directive.
This is a huge increase in the amount of liquid biofuels required and could offer opportunities for farmers.
However, it is recognised that there are potentially negative food security and environmental issues associated with this policy and we can expect increasingly stringent controls on sourcing of liquid biofuels.
The transport strategy also outlines measures to reduce transport emissions by:
• Improving the efficiency of new vehicles (cars, vans and buses)
• Electrifying more of the rail network
• Facilitating the use of electric vehicles – including the offer of financial support to purchase them
• Encouraging more walking, cycling and low carbon travel habits • Working on international agreements on shipping and aviation.
The Low Carbon Industrial Strategy recognises the opportunities for UK industry and commerce. To maximise the opportunities, the government intends to remove barriers to making the changes and has announced £405 million of support:
• £120 million will be used to develop offshore wind
• £60 million to develop wave and tidal power
• £6 million to contract “60 or more” low carbon affordable homes
• £10 million increase, from £20 million to £30 million, for electric vehicle charging infrastructure and £25 million Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme • £4 million expansion of the Manufacturing Advisory Service
• £12 million for green chemicals/sustainable biotechnology
• £15 million nuclear advanced manufacturing research centre
• £150 million for UK Innovation Investment Fund -> £1billion in 10 years.
How Enviros can help
This is an exciting time for initiatives in the low carbon sector and with these recent papers, the Government’s direction and support is now clear.
With the ‘step change’ represented by these papers some projects that were not previously viable now may well be. Enviros have over 30 years of experience in this field so have the skills, knowledge and expertise needed to be able to support you as you work to make the ‘low carbon transition’ needed or capitalise on the opportunities presented, whether you are working in the public or the private sector.
Get your FREE copy of the full Low Carbon Strategy briefing document here.
Scottish Government and Scottish Renewables Calls for UK Treasury to Release Millions to Invest in Renewable Energy
Support for access to renewables cash grows
Scottish Renewables have joined the Scottish Government in calling for the UK Treasury to release up to £174 million to invest in renewable energy.
The money is currently held by Ofgem under the Fossil Fuel Levy arrangements, which mean the Scottish Government is unable to access the cash without a corresponding reduction in its budget.
Finance Secretary John Swinney has argued for the fund to be made available as additional money over and above the Scottish budget since this administration came to office in 2007.
And today the cause will gain the support of Scottish Renewables, when Niall Stuart, chief executive of the green energy trade body, addresses a marine energy conference in Inverness.
Mr Swinney said:
"This is £174 million of Scotland's money that should be invested in developing renewable energy in Scotland right now.
"Instead, the unwillingness of the UK Treasury to change its position means it is sitting unused in an Ofgem bank account in London. Scottish Renewables are absolutely right to be calling on the Chancellor to release this money so that it is additional to the budget already at our disposal.
"I welcome their position and can assure them we speak as one on this issue. It simply makes no sense that, at a time when the parlous state of the UK's public finances is well documented, and when Scotland is facing a 500 million pounds cut in its budget next year, this money is withheld and only available if we accept a corresponding reduction in Scotland's budget.
"Scotland has a flourishing renewable energy sector that could benefit hugely from this additional money.
"This Government is doing all it can to help - but with access to this funding we could do even more. That would not only bring the clear benefits of developing cutting edge renewable technologies, but would also support green jobs and help stimulate a strong economic recovery."
The Fossil Fuel Levy (FFL) is used to compensate power companies for the higher costs involved in meeting the terms of contracts to purchase renewable electricity, awarded during the 1990s under the previous support mechanism, the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO).
Changes introduced in 2005, which allowed the proceeds from the sale of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) attributable to Scottish NFFO contracts to be used to meet the FFL costs have led to the development of a rapidly accumulating surplus in Ofgem's bank accounts (the Scotland and England/Wales accounts being held separately).
Scottish Ministers and officials have raised this matter with UK Government counterparts on a continuous basis since May 2007. Treasury rules on Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) mean that FFL surplus resources, if released to Scotland, would not be additional to Scotland's block grant. To enable FFL funds to be used for additional activity in Scotland would require the Treasury's agreement to increase Scottish DEL equivalent to the amount being drawn down from the FFL. The Treasury remains adamant that should Scottish Ministers choose to draw down this money, a corresponding reduction would be made in the Scottish block grant.
Full articles at the Scottish Government web site.
Scottish Renewables have joined the Scottish Government in calling for the UK Treasury to release up to £174 million to invest in renewable energy.
The money is currently held by Ofgem under the Fossil Fuel Levy arrangements, which mean the Scottish Government is unable to access the cash without a corresponding reduction in its budget.
Finance Secretary John Swinney has argued for the fund to be made available as additional money over and above the Scottish budget since this administration came to office in 2007.
And today the cause will gain the support of Scottish Renewables, when Niall Stuart, chief executive of the green energy trade body, addresses a marine energy conference in Inverness.
Mr Swinney said:
"This is £174 million of Scotland's money that should be invested in developing renewable energy in Scotland right now.
"Instead, the unwillingness of the UK Treasury to change its position means it is sitting unused in an Ofgem bank account in London. Scottish Renewables are absolutely right to be calling on the Chancellor to release this money so that it is additional to the budget already at our disposal.
"I welcome their position and can assure them we speak as one on this issue. It simply makes no sense that, at a time when the parlous state of the UK's public finances is well documented, and when Scotland is facing a 500 million pounds cut in its budget next year, this money is withheld and only available if we accept a corresponding reduction in Scotland's budget.
"Scotland has a flourishing renewable energy sector that could benefit hugely from this additional money.
"This Government is doing all it can to help - but with access to this funding we could do even more. That would not only bring the clear benefits of developing cutting edge renewable technologies, but would also support green jobs and help stimulate a strong economic recovery."
The Fossil Fuel Levy (FFL) is used to compensate power companies for the higher costs involved in meeting the terms of contracts to purchase renewable electricity, awarded during the 1990s under the previous support mechanism, the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO).
Changes introduced in 2005, which allowed the proceeds from the sale of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) attributable to Scottish NFFO contracts to be used to meet the FFL costs have led to the development of a rapidly accumulating surplus in Ofgem's bank accounts (the Scotland and England/Wales accounts being held separately).
Scottish Ministers and officials have raised this matter with UK Government counterparts on a continuous basis since May 2007. Treasury rules on Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) mean that FFL surplus resources, if released to Scotland, would not be additional to Scotland's block grant. To enable FFL funds to be used for additional activity in Scotland would require the Treasury's agreement to increase Scottish DEL equivalent to the amount being drawn down from the FFL. The Treasury remains adamant that should Scottish Ministers choose to draw down this money, a corresponding reduction would be made in the Scottish block grant.
Full articles at the Scottish Government web site.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Waste Produces Gas for Cooking in Kenya Using Anaerobic Digestion
This item shows how anaerobic digestion can be such a power for good. It brightened my day and I hope it does the same for yours as well. It explains how biogas is being used to solve a number of problems simultaneously in Kenyan slums.
Harnessing Waste Produces Gas for Cooking in Kenya
By Cathy Majtenyi
Kenya
From Voice of America News - 07 November 2009
The scourge of so-called "flying toilets" - where human waste is put into a plastic bag and tossed into the air, landing on roads or in gutters - has plagued the slums of Kenya's capital Nairobi for decades. But an innovative project in the slum of Kibera has dramatically cut down on the problem by converting human waste into gas that can be used to fuel cookers and other devices.
Roseline Amondi is cooking up a storm. Today's menu for the tiny restaurant she runs is githeri, a traditional dish consisting of beans and maize.
Amondi cooks every day in this community kitchen. She will then take the food back to her kiosk to sell to her customers. She says the community stove saves her a lot of money that she would otherwise spend on charcoal or wood.
"Before the gas started working, I was using almost 100 or 200 [shillings] per day for cooking any meal in the house, but right now, it is only 10 bob [shillings] per meal," she said. "It is very cheap. If I cook two different types of food, I may use only 30 shillings for the whole day. That is wonderful."
The gas that Amondi uses comes from an unlikely source, the community toilet. This is a rare sight in Kibera, where up to 200 people can share a single latrine in neighborhoods that have no electricity or running water.
The toilet and kitchen are run by a coalition of five community groups calling themselves TOSHA (Total Sanitation and Hygiene Access). "Tosha" also means "enough" in the national language Ki'Swahili.
Some 600 people a day use the toilets for a small fee.
The human waste is transported via pipes into an underground tank, where it is converted into bio-gas.
The gas is then piped up to the community kitchen, where members can use the stove for pennies per pot.
Groups often rent out the facility's top floor for meetings and functions. TOSHA earns some $400 each month renting out the facility, the community kitchen and use of the toilets.
Aidah Binale is a coordinator with Umande Trust, a development group that partnered with TOSHA to formulate the project.
She says it was difficult at first for community members to accept the gas.
"People will have the idea of, 'Ah, no, I can't cook from there, it is from [human] waste.' Right now we are still trying to capacity build, we are trying to tell them [there is] nothing wrong," she explained. "We get to have more visitors from different countries coming to visit us. We make sure that when they come to the office, we tell them, 'Let's go down there and have tea.' So when the community comes and sees us drinking tea, they are thinking, 'Ah, this is a foreigner taking tea. These people are taking tea, we can also cook.'"
Running water and sanitation facilities are virtually non-existent in slums like Kibera, where most people earn less than $1 a day. Human waste in plastic bags is often dumped on roads, alleys and gutters.
But locals say there has been a dramatic reduction in these so-called "flying toilets" since the bio-gas center was constructed two years ago.
Roseline Amondi is also secretary of TOSHA.
"At the time we were using flying toilets, there were so many diseases around us like cholera," she noted. "Once an outbreak of cholera occurs, we are the sufferer. Many of us died, some got into the hospitals. But right now, for the last three months, there was an outbreak [of cholera] within Nairobi, but we were safe because of the bio-center."
Project supporters say the TOSHA Bio-Gas Centre is a model for communities everywhere, especially those dealing with power shortages.
Paul Muchire, communication manager with Umande Trust.
"We have the problem of [supplying enough] energy. Poverty levels are going up. Sanitation is a problem in the developing world. We have the issue of pollution from the oil and diesel. There is need to go into other sources of energy, adapt other sources of energy that would be environmentally friendly," he said.
Muchire says there are about 10 bio-gas centers in Kibera under construction and that an engineer is looking at how the gas can be piped into peoples' homes.
Harnessing Waste Produces Gas for Cooking in Kenya
By Cathy Majtenyi
Kenya
From Voice of America News - 07 November 2009
The scourge of so-called "flying toilets" - where human waste is put into a plastic bag and tossed into the air, landing on roads or in gutters - has plagued the slums of Kenya's capital Nairobi for decades. But an innovative project in the slum of Kibera has dramatically cut down on the problem by converting human waste into gas that can be used to fuel cookers and other devices.
Roseline Amondi is cooking up a storm. Today's menu for the tiny restaurant she runs is githeri, a traditional dish consisting of beans and maize.
Amondi cooks every day in this community kitchen. She will then take the food back to her kiosk to sell to her customers. She says the community stove saves her a lot of money that she would otherwise spend on charcoal or wood.
"Before the gas started working, I was using almost 100 or 200 [shillings] per day for cooking any meal in the house, but right now, it is only 10 bob [shillings] per meal," she said. "It is very cheap. If I cook two different types of food, I may use only 30 shillings for the whole day. That is wonderful."
The gas that Amondi uses comes from an unlikely source, the community toilet. This is a rare sight in Kibera, where up to 200 people can share a single latrine in neighborhoods that have no electricity or running water.
The toilet and kitchen are run by a coalition of five community groups calling themselves TOSHA (Total Sanitation and Hygiene Access). "Tosha" also means "enough" in the national language Ki'Swahili.
Some 600 people a day use the toilets for a small fee.
The human waste is transported via pipes into an underground tank, where it is converted into bio-gas.
The gas is then piped up to the community kitchen, where members can use the stove for pennies per pot.
Groups often rent out the facility's top floor for meetings and functions. TOSHA earns some $400 each month renting out the facility, the community kitchen and use of the toilets.
Aidah Binale is a coordinator with Umande Trust, a development group that partnered with TOSHA to formulate the project.
She says it was difficult at first for community members to accept the gas.
"People will have the idea of, 'Ah, no, I can't cook from there, it is from [human] waste.' Right now we are still trying to capacity build, we are trying to tell them [there is] nothing wrong," she explained. "We get to have more visitors from different countries coming to visit us. We make sure that when they come to the office, we tell them, 'Let's go down there and have tea.' So when the community comes and sees us drinking tea, they are thinking, 'Ah, this is a foreigner taking tea. These people are taking tea, we can also cook.'"
Running water and sanitation facilities are virtually non-existent in slums like Kibera, where most people earn less than $1 a day. Human waste in plastic bags is often dumped on roads, alleys and gutters.
But locals say there has been a dramatic reduction in these so-called "flying toilets" since the bio-gas center was constructed two years ago.
Roseline Amondi is also secretary of TOSHA.
"At the time we were using flying toilets, there were so many diseases around us like cholera," she noted. "Once an outbreak of cholera occurs, we are the sufferer. Many of us died, some got into the hospitals. But right now, for the last three months, there was an outbreak [of cholera] within Nairobi, but we were safe because of the bio-center."
Project supporters say the TOSHA Bio-Gas Centre is a model for communities everywhere, especially those dealing with power shortages.
Paul Muchire, communication manager with Umande Trust.
"We have the problem of [supplying enough] energy. Poverty levels are going up. Sanitation is a problem in the developing world. We have the issue of pollution from the oil and diesel. There is need to go into other sources of energy, adapt other sources of energy that would be environmentally friendly," he said.
Muchire says there are about 10 bio-gas centers in Kibera under construction and that an engineer is looking at how the gas can be piped into peoples' homes.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Anaerobic Digestion Has Big Role in Zero Waste Britain Announcement
The path to Britain becoming a zero waste nation was announced last week by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn at a summit of Local Authorities and the waste industry.
Hilary Benn said:
"We need to rethink how we view and treat waste in the UK. Why do we send valuable items like aluminium and food waste to landfill when we can turn them into new cans and renewable energy? Why use more resources than we need to in manufacturing? We must now work together to build a zero waste nation - where we reduce the resources we use, reuse and recycle all that we can and only landfill things that have absolutely no other use.
"To do this all of us - government, local authorities, businesses and consumers - must do our bit. And we must make this moment the turning point on our journey to eliminate wasteful waste.”
During a morning visit to Earls Court, Mr Benn showed his support for an updated BSI sustainable event standard which is designed to ensure that the events industry considers the social, economic and environmental impacts of their events.
Mr Benn continued:
"Using new technologies will help us to re-use things, for example anaerobic digestion that creates energy from food and farm waste. And businesses can apply the technology at their fingertips to design innovative products that use less resources or contain recycled materials.
"In ten years time 75 per cent of household waste will either be recycled or used for energy, and over time this figure will increase even further. Aiming for zero waste is the way we have to think to get us to where we need to be."
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government John Denham added:
"If we continue to send recyclable or compostable waste to landfill we are missing a major opportunity to generate heat and energy and missing an opportunity to turn that waste into money. We can save planet whilst keeping money in resident’s pockets.
“I have recently set out ambitions for councils to play a bigger role in tackling climate change and thinking more creatively about waste is just one way to unlock that potential.”
Setting out how the UK can become a zero waste nation where people can do the right thing with their waste whether at work, home or on the move, Mr Benn said:
* England should more than halve the amount of waste going to landfill in the next 10 years – early next year we will consult on what recyclable and compostable items should be banned from landfill and how a ban will work.
* In ten years time 75 per cent of household waste will either be recycled or used for energy, and over time this figure will increase even further.
* Six new Zero Waste Places in parts of Shropshire, Dorchester, Brixton, Newham, Hoxton and Suffolk will be created to develop innovative ideas to cut waste in the home, workplace and community.
* A new Zero Waste Places Standard for Local Authorities will also recognise areas which are going above and beyond national waste targets while supporting them with small grants for further development.
* New research out today shows it is possible to divert 500,000 tonnes of household waste per year through re-using it.
* Later this month a new public campaign will be launched, aimed at encouraging people to rethink their approach to waste by reducing and reusing the waste they create as well continuing to recycle as much as they can.
* The Government expects Local Authorities to offer a full collection service for all recyclable items by 2020. This should include paper, card, cans, glass and plastic bottles, food and packaging. We will encourage Local Authorities in collecting food waste to make use of the technology and funding available to them to harness the power of energy from waste.
* Publication of our aims and actions for Commercial and Industrial Waste in England. This will help businesses to use resources more efficiently and encourage them to think about what they do with their waste as well as delivering benefits for the environment. Actions cover four areas: helping business; working with the waste management industry; plugging the data gap; and encouraging innovative approaches.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
