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Biomass sustainability criteria to be introduced

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New rules will bring certainty for supply chain and ensure biomass best practice

2015 criteria for sustainable forest management are based on a range of issues 

Operators of biomass plants will have to prove that wood-fuel burned to generate power is produced sustainably or lose renewables subsidies under legislation slated for April 2015. 

Greg Barker, minister of state for energy and climate change, said: “The new criteria will provide the necessary investor certainty and, crucially, ensure that the biomass is delivered in a transparent and sustainable way.

He added: “The Coalition is committed to delivering clean, affordable and secure energy for consumers. This includes an important role for biomass power as part of the UK’s energy mix.”

The new criteria for sustainable forest management are based on a range of issues such as sustainable harvesting rates, biodiversity protection and land use rights for indigenous populations.

The rules require all operators of generators with a capacity of 1 megawatt or more using solid biomass or biogas feedstock to demonstrate that they are meeting the criteria in order to claim support under the Renewables Obligation. Around 98% of all biomass power generation in the UK falls into the 1 megawatt and above category.

These operators will also need to provide an independent sustainability audit with their annual sustainability report.

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) welcomed today's announcement. REA chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska said: “These sustainability criteria ensure that the UK can reap the benefits of biomass, safe in the knowledge that it is making a real dent in our carbon emissions and that ecologically sensitive land is being protected.”

Skorupska added: “Biomass is a great way to bridge the looming capacity gap because it has all the same benefits as fossil fuels – such as reliability and flexibility of supply – but without the carbon impacts.”

Power generated from biomass has greenhouse gas savings of 70% compared to fossil fuels. The biomass industry is worth over £1bn in new investment and supports over 3,000 jobs.
 
The government say that today’s announcement will bring forward the conversion of existing coal-fired power plants to run on biomass, which they say is one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to help decarbonise the UK’s electricity supply.
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