Government must support gasification industry

The government must offer support to the renewable energy industry if technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification are to be successful, an event at the House of Commons heard this week.

The event hosted by the Renewable Energy Association (REA) on Wednesday (July 4) aimed to introduce members of parliament and stakeholders to the new types of technology that are emerging.

Gasification is the thermal treatment of a carbon-based material, such as biomass, in an environment with little or no oxygen. The outcome is a synthesis gas or Syngas which can be burnt or used as a fuel.

Government support was identified as one of the three barriers to the success of the technologies, by Hilary Stone, chair of the REAs gasification and pyrolysis group.

She said: The industry needs support at this stage. We know government understands this and we recognise that we are living in a financial maelstrom but would be helpful for us if we could work together.

Ms Stone explained that the other two barriers were environmental permitting and planning.

She added: Members of the group have concerns for the industry. They include the lack of a stable regulatory environment, the lack of clear government policies and risks in all its forms.

ROC review

Ms Stone also explained that the upcoming review of the Renewables Obligation needed to be satisfactory otherwise many of the gasification and pyrolysis plants currently going through the planning system would not be built.

Under the Obligation energy suppliers are required to purchase Renewables Obligations Certificate, or ROCs. Under the current banding system for the RO, operators using gasification and pyrolysis can claim one Renewables Obligations Certificate, or ROC, for every megawatt hour of electricity generated. However this could be reduced to 0.5 ROCs per MWh, under plans proposed by the government (see letsrecycle.com story).

Also discussing the ROC banding review, shadow energy minister Tom Greatrex, said: There is a need for clarity from the government. It is important to make sure that it [the review] is clear and we need to get it right first time as there are big challenges around the electricity market.

Mr Greatrex added that gasification technology presented a huge opportunity to the economy. There is a big opportunity in the low carbon economy in relation to jobs, in construction and operation which could be in the tens of thousands. We can see that many of the jobs will be in the UK and they will largely be available at a time when many parts of the country are suffering with lots of unemployment.

Benefits

Discussing the other benefits of gasification and pyrolysis, Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the REA said: Biomass is the fossil fuel of the future. We will need to do this in the future so we need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. We are doing it because we need to deal with our waste and because we want to reduce emissions.

Also at the event, Dr Jeremy Tomkinson, chief executive of consultancy firm NNFCC, noted that the gasification process had benefits in terms of heat and electricity and fuel production.