electric.co.uk: UK Renewable Energy Association Launches Back Biomass 29/08/2011
According to the most-recent reports, the UK Renewable Energy Association has just recently launched its Back Biomass campaign. The whole campaign is targeted at getting the government to support biomass power as a top renewable source of power in the UK. The actual campaign itself was first started back on August 23.
Of course, the campaign does not stop at supporting biomass. The campaign has also been put in place to make sure that the government keeps its promise of completing its review of federal renewable support by the end of this year.
The UK Renewable Energy Association said that the Back Biomass campaign aims to deliver a clear message to the government. The message is that it must not let the opportunity to reap the benefits of this flexible and affordable technology just slip away. This campaign will make sure that the government continues to offer support for planned projects in the up-coming months.
While this campaign is going on, the Department of Energy and Climate Change is in the middle of reviewing support levels for renewable-energy sources under its own Renewable Obligation framework. This system actually awards a certain number of Renewable Obligation Certificates to renewable energy-generating programs. Any changes that are made during this review are going to take effect as early as 2013.
The biggest problem for the biomass industry has been its ability to attract support. Due to this, the sector has not been able to attract new investors. This means that this sector has not had the proper funding to get off the ground in the UK. The campaign calls on the government to give this industry the support it needs to blossom.
There are a few big companies that have invested heavily in biomass. For example, Eon, Future Biogas, and British Sugar have all invested in biomass. These companies continue to be very vocal in their support of biomass in the UK.
Charles Hendry, the Energy Minister, said that government wants a very balanced energy portfolio. Thus, the government does want biomass to play a big role in this. Biomass electricity is both predictable and controllable. He said that he is very interested its potential overall.
The executive director of the UK Renewable Energy Association, Gaynor Hartnell, said that there are a number of large projects in development right now that would produce very cost-effective electricity. Biomass is very important in helping the government reach its legally binding renewable target.