Biomass heating: an overview
Jake Roos, Energy Efficiency
Surveyor, Uttlesford District
Council
What is biomass?
Solid plant matter (that
can be used as fuel)
Wood (logs, forestry
arisings, manufacturing/
construction waste)
Straw (from oil seed rape,
wheat)
Dedicated crops (short
rotation coppice,
miscanthus)
Why biomass?
Carbon neutral fuel
Why biomass?
Legislation
Zero carbon new
buildings – 2016, 2019
EU renewable energy
targets
Climate change bill
Climate change levy
Energy Performance
Certificates
Why biomass?
Cost of fuel and landfill charges
Why biomass?
Local economy
Farm diversification
Local jobs
Sustainable energy
supply
Applications
Room heaters/stoves
Suitable for most homes on or
off gas network as secondary
heating
Attractive room feature
Link to hot water system and
possibly radiators
Pellet stoves can be
automatically controlled and fed
Grants available for
householders
Applications
Boilers
More suited to larger homes
and buildings where mains gas
is not available
Need space for boiler and fuel
storage
Can supply large peaks in
demand – e.g. historic buildings
Grants available for
householders and communities
Interest free loans available for
SMEs
Applications
District heating and combined heat
and power
Communal supply of heat and
electricity
Neighbourhood scale
Need diverse heat demand
Possible option for eco-towns or
existing urban/suburban environments
Renewables Obligation Certificates
can be earned and sold
Feed in tariff for electricity?
Applications
Power stations
Very large utility scale
Dedicated type: e.g. 38MW
straw-fired plant in Ely
Co-firing biomass in existing coal
fired power stations
Heat is wasted due to remote
locations
Renewables Obligation
Certificates can be earned and
sold
Potential market?
Straw – enough in Uttlesford to supply heat
needs of all oil and coal heated households
two and half times over
Emergence of ‘anchor’ users offers
opportunity for local supply network to be
established
Operations with their own supply of low cost
biomass material best placed to become
fuel suppliers