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An activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

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The ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.

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A turbine having a large vaned wheel rotated by the wind to generate electricity.

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An area of land with a group of energy-producing windmills or wind turbines.

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Wind power, form of energy conversion in which turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be used for power.

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The SI unit of power, equivalent to one joule per second, corresponding to the power in an electric circuit in which the potential difference is one volt and the current one ampere.

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Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

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Radiant energy emitted by the sun.

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Energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as wind or solar power.

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The network of transmission and distribution facilities makes up the power grid.

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The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors.

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A photovoltaic cell (PV cell) is a specialized semiconductor diode that converts visible light into direct current (DC).

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A liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is present in certain rock strata and can be extracted and refined to produce fuels including gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil; oil.

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The energy released during nuclear fission or fusion, especially when used to generate electricity.

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Earth minerals and metal ores, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas) and groundwater in certain aquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individual elements are always conserved (except in nuclear reactions).

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Metric (SI) unit of torque (tendency of a force to cause rotation), used also as a unit of energy. One newton meter is equal to about 0.74 pound-foot.

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Flammable gas, consisting largely of methane and other hydrocarbons, occurring naturally underground (often in association with petroleum) and used as fuel.

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Is energy that an object gets from its position and motion.

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Radiant Energy is the energy of electromagnetic waves.

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States that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed, but it can be transformed from one form to another.

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Energy which a body possesses by virtue of being in motion.

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The SI unit of work or energy, equal to the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves one meter in the direction of action of the force, equivalent to one 3600th of a watt-hour.

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Inexhaustible resources are those resources which are present in unlimited quantity in nature and those resources which do not get exhausted or depleted by human activities.

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A colorless, odorless, highly flammable gas, the chemical element of atomic number 1.

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Hydroelectric energy is energyderived from the movement of water.

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Thermal Energy results in an object or a system having a temperature that can be measured.

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The trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

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Relating to or produced by the internal heat of the earth.

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A natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.

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Exhaustible energy is energy produced by sources that cannot be replaced once it is used.

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The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.

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The strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.

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A form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current.

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Electricity is the presence and flow of electric charge.

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The state or quality of being efficient.

# data[].attributes.body
revention of wasteful use of a resource.

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A change in global or regional climate patterns.

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Chemical Energy is released when bonds form in a chemical reaction, often producing heat as a by-product (exothermic reaction).

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The amount of heat needed to raise one pound of water at maximum density through one degree Fahrenheit, equivalent to 1.055 × 10³ joules.

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Organic matter used as a fuel, especially in a power station for the generation of electricity.

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Chatham House has argued that current biomass policies are "not fit for purpose", and that resulting carbon emissions are not being fully accounted for. Reported carbon emissions from biomass fail to cover emissions from burning pellets in power stations, and instead only focusses on emissions in the supply chain, i.e. harvesting and delivering the pellets prior to burning.

Chatham House criticised the "flawed assumption" that wood pellets are carbon neutral due to the ability to replant the forests from which they came. This is an approach championed by the Renewable Energy Association (REA), which has criticised the Chatham House report. REA argues that woodland biomass is "already part of the atmospheric cycle" and that carbon is reabsorbed by forests. However, the Chatham House report claims this process would take centuries and as a result should not form part of modern-day carbon abatement. It goes on to highlight that burning biomass in fact increases short term carbon emissions, in some cases more than the coal-fired power stations which they were designed to replace.

Drax biomass expansion

The Drax group has invested substantially in converting three of its six coal units to generate electricity from biomass pellets. The company has also constructed four storage domes holding over 300,000 tonnes of wood pellets on site. The company reports on the feedstock type and country of origin, and claims an 80% reduction in carbon emissions compared to coal.

In 2015, Drax received £452 million in subsidies as part of the Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme and Levy Exemption Certificates. This led to operating profits of £76m. A year later, having increased its biomass share from 43% to 65% of their total output, income from government schemes rose to £560 million. This was despite changes to the Climate Change Levy (CCL), which cost the company £34m after a previous exemption for biomass generation was removed. Operating profit in that period increased by 167% to more than £200 million.

Global concerns

Uncertainty over the benefits of biomass use in carbon reduction could cause significant problems for global efforts to tackle carbon emissions. Biomass with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) was identified as the main source of negative carbon emission technology. By combining energy from biomass with carbon capture and storage, carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. BECCS is now relied upon heavily in the mitigation plans to limit global warming to 2°C. However, fresh concerns over carbon neutrality puts in doubt the potential for BECCS to provide the required negative carbon emissions. Without wide scale deployment of BECCS most climate scientists have modelled that global temperatures would increase by more than 2°C by the end of the century.

The consumer costs of biomass

The uptake in biomass generation has had strong implications on consumer costs. The amount customers pay for the RO has risen in line with rising biomass generation. Meanwhile, the value of Renewables Obligation Certificates for all generators has fallen.

The government's regular survey of attitudes towards energy and renewables shows that while the public prefers other form of renewables, there is still a majority strongly in favour of biomass.

With consumers ultimately funding government subsidy schemes through levies on bills, it is imperative that they can have confidence that the schemes deliver what they say they do.

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Posted by Utilitywise on Wednesday, the 1. March at 11.57

Utilitywise has been helping businesses manage their business utilities since 2006. With over 40,000 customers across Europe, we help businesses save time, save effort and save money by reducing their energy and water consumption.

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Biomass credentials under fire | Utilitywise plc

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Chatham House has argued that current biomass policies are "not fit for purpose", and that resulting carbon emissions are not being fully accounted for. Reported carbon emissions from biomass fail to cover emissions from burning pellets in power stations, and instead only focusses on emissions in the supply chain, i.e.