The Renewables Obligation banding consultation and what it could mean for biomass
PRESS RELEASE. York, UK - 20 October 2011. Under proposals by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, biomass incentives under the Renewables Obligation (RO) will change to reflect "technical ability to scale up then drive down costs".
| Date Posted | 20 Oct 2011 |
|---|---|
| Story Source | Dr Matthew Aylott, NNFCC |
| Relevant Industries | Bioenergy |
The RO encourages larger-scale generation of renewable electricity (>50kW) by ensuring energy companies supply an increasing percentage of their electricity from renewable resources. The incentive is currently worth around £1.4 billion a year to the renewable electricity industry.
Suppliers meet their obligations by presenting Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). These are issued to electricity generators who trade them with suppliers. The number of ROCs issued varies by technology, but each currently trades at £45-50 per MWh.
New support bands for biomass
The new consultation on banding of technologies covered under the RO will have a major impact on the future direction of the industry. Under the proposals dedicated and advanced biomass to energy support has been reduced but a new band known as "enhanced co-firing" will encourage the use of biomass as a co-feedstock with fossil fuel in large power stations, like Drax.
David Turley, Policy Manager at the NNFCC said, "The key message for biomass is that support levels will reduce in future for advanced energy conversion processes and some dedicated biomass plants, in part to try and encourage actions sooner rather than later. We are happy to receive any comments on these proposals and where appropriate to feed these back to Government."
Anticipated impact of RO changes
Should these proposals go ahead the Government expect to see 70-75 TWh of renewable electricity in the UK by 2017. This is 70 per cent of the way towards the 108TWh of electricity needed to meet the UK’s 2020 renewable energy target.
These proposals are expected to cost between £0.4 and £1.3 billion less than retaining current bandings and drive a higher level of deployment than leaving bandings as they are, say the Government. The proposals are also intended to provide industry with the certainty needed to make investment decisions and will overall mean a lower impact on consumer bills.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said, “Investing in green energy boosts growth and creates jobs - the offshore wind sector alone could provide up to 66,000 jobs in this country by 2020. Supporting clean, green, secure energy is the right thing to do for both the environment and the economy. Today’s announcement makes clear the Government’s commitment to supporting long-term investment in the UK’s renewables industries.”
A full break down of the proposed support bands are given below. To respond to the consultation, visit www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations or contact the NNFCC.
|
Renewable electricity technology |
Current ROCs/MWh |
Proposed ROCs/MWh |
Other proposed changes |
|
Advanced gasification and pyrolysis |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17* |
Proposed change to definition and merge advanced gasification and pyrolysis |
|
Anaerobic digestion |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
- |
|
Biomass conversion: coal plants converting to generate 100 per cent of power from biomass |
No current band but eligible for 1.5 ROCs under current banding |
1* |
Proposal for a new band |
|
Co-firing of biomass |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Changes proposed to add fossil derived bioliquids |
|
Co-firing of biomass (enhanced): co-firing using biomass to generate at least 15 per cent of gross power output |
No current band but eligible for 0.5 ROCs under current banding |
1* |
Proposal for a new band |
|
Co-firing of biomass with CHP |
1 |
1 |
Changes proposed to add fossil derived bioliquids, to exclude enhanced co-firing and to close this band to new accreditations from 1 April 2015 |
|
Co-firing of energy crops |
1 |
1 |
Changes proposed to the definition of energy crops and to exclude enhanced co-firing |
|
Co-firing of energy crops with CHP |
1.5 |
1.5* |
Changes proposed to the definition of energy crops, to exclude enhanced co-firing and to close this band to new accreditations from 1 April 2015 |
|
Dedicated biomass |
1.5 |
1.5 to 31 March 2016 |
Changes proposed to exclude biomass conversions and to add fossil-derived bioliquids |
|
Dedicated energy crops |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
Changes proposed to the definition of energy crops and to exclude biomass conversion |
|
Dedicated biomass with CHP |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15 |
Changes proposed to add fossil derived bioliquids, to exclude biomass conversion and to close this band to new accreditations from 1 April 2015 |
|
Dedicated energy crops with CHP |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15* |
Changes proposed to the definition of energy crops, to exclude biomass conversion and to close this band to new accreditations from 1 April 2015 |
|
Energy from waste with CHP |
1 |
0.5* |
- |
|
|
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
- |
|
Geopressure |
1 |
1 |
- |
|
Hydro-electric |
1 |
0.5 |
- |
|
Landfill gas |
0.25 |
0* |
- |
|
Microgeneration |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
- |
|
Onshore wind |
1 |
0.9 |
- |
|
Offshore wind |
2 in 2013/14; 1.5 from 2014/15 onwards |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
- |
|
Sewage gas |
0.5 |
0.5* |
- |
|
Solar photovoltaic |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
- |
|
Standard gasification and pyrolysis |
1 |
0.5* |
Proposed change to definition and merge standard gasification and pyrolysis |
|
Tidal impoundment (range) – tidal barrage (<1GW) |
2 |
2 in 2013/14-2014/15; 1.9 in 2015/16; 1.8 in 2016/17 |
- |
|
Tidal impoundment (range) – tidal lagoon (<1GW) |
2 |
|
- |
|
Tidal stream |
2 |
5 up to a 30MW project cap; 2 above the cap |
- |
|
Wave |
2 |
5 up to a 30MW project cap; 2 above the cap |
- |
* = Call for evidence
More information, please contact:
David Turley
Policy and Strategy Manager
Tel:+44 (0)1904 435182
d.turley@nnfcc.co.uk
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