Use of biomass should face restrictions, say energy chiefs

USING biomass to generate electricity and heat should be limited to protect biodiversity and land use, energy bosses have warned.

The Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) said the growing practice risks competing with food production given the vast tracts of land required.

“It is essential to prioritise the use of biomass in those sectors where it has a clear and sustained advantage versus alternative decarbonisation routes,” the commission said in a report.

“This implies using biomass primarily as a material (including in plastics feedstocks), in aviation, and in applications where it can be combined with carbon capture to deliver net carbon dioxide removals.”

Biomass such as wood, crops and waste can be used to replace fossil fuels for vehicles and power plants.

Even though burning biomass does emit carbon, supporters argue it is a climate-friendlier alternative to fossil fuels as the material has absorbed carbon during its lifetime and will be regrown. It has played a large role in the UK almost banishing coal from the power system, with Yorkshire power station owner Drax converting its turbines to run on biomass.

Will Gardiner, chief executive of Drax, is one of the 50 commissioners who make up the ETC. Other ETC members include Alistair Phillips-Davies, the chief executive of SSE; Spencer Dale, chief economist at BP; and Simon Thompson, chairman of Rio Tinto.

The ETC warns demands for biomass, as countries try to replace fossil fuels, may “greatly exceed” the amount that could be sustainably supplied. “While biomass is in principle renewable, not all biomass is ‘good’ biomass from an environmental point of view,” it adds.

“Even where use of biomass does contribute to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, biomass for energy still emits pollutants at point of use, affecting air quality, and biomass production can still adversely affect biodiversity.”

Drax is seeking government support to attach carbon capture systems to its biomass units, arguing this results in carbon being removed from the atmosphere as carbon absorbed by plants during their growth is not released.