Summary
• Biomass energy defers waste from landfill.
• It also reduces reliance on fossil fuels.
• Wood has a calorific value of 5kW per kg in its dry state.
• The Renewable Heat Incentive will create new revenue streams for wood waste.

In today’s ever-changing climate, businesses are having to become increasingly aware of their environmental responsibilities. Those within the timber industry, in particular, have many guidelines or legislation to which they have to adhere – from how the timber is grown, sourced, harvested and processed, to the utilisation or disposal of any surplus residues.

There have been many technological advances over the past decade enabling companies to use machinery and software to minimise waste and also use it in a way that can decrease carbon footprints.

Using wood waste to produce energy, now quite commonly branded as biomass energy, will not only defer waste from landfill, but also reduce, or in some cases eliminate, the use of fossil fuels for heating or process energy requirements.

This method can be used to help combat our global energy demands and there are now many UK government incentives to do so. The Carbon Trust offers interest-free loans towards the capital cost of equipment that reduces carbon footprint, with the amount of the loan available calculated by the expected carbon saving.

The Bioenergy Capital Grants from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) are now to be superseded by a feed-in tariff or Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which will come into play in April 2011. The RHI level is currently under consultation, but it is expected that tariffs of up to 9p/kW for domestic biomass boiler equipment and 6.5p/kW for commercially-sized equipment, will be available to those investing in biomass energy. This will dramatically change the wood market and supply chains by creating other revenue streams from valuable fuel sources that would currently be deemed as waste.

Calorific value

Wood has a calorific value of around 5kW per kg in its dry state and the energy can be used to supply hot air for drying and space heating or hot water, steam and electricity for process energy requirements.

Unlike fossil fuels that are a major contributory factor to climate change due to their release of carbon into the atmosphere, biomass is carbon neutral as the amount of CO2 absorbed in its growth cycle is the same as when released in combustion. The creation of a commodity value for this end product also helps drive sustainability, providing further incentive for replanting or development of forests and woodlands.

Even treated timbers and material such as MDF or chipboard can be used to produce energy, provided they comply with waste incineration directives and don’t contain heavy metals or volatile organic compounds.

Appliances with a net rated thermal input of less than 0.4MW, typically 300kW output, come under the jurisdiction of the Clean Air Act, so if installed in a smoke control area need to be an exempt unit. Larger capacity systems using non-virgin timber wood waste would come under local authority regulation and have to comply with EPA PG1/12.

Talbotts, one of the longest established UK manufactured brands of biomass energy equipment, has a range of wood-fuelled energy systems enabling bespoke project design to accommodate this broad base of requirements.

As an example, a Talbott TMA automatic hot air system would produce 300kW of heat and typically provide a total of 1,036,800kWh on an annual basis. This could save the user £40,000 per year from the average gas bill for space heating whilst also displacing a fossil fuel, leading to a carbon reduction of over 190 tonnes per year.

A further saving to businesses would be from the reduction of material being sent to landfill. On the basis of generating 10 tonnes of wood waste per week, that would add up to an annualised amount of £30,000.

A payback on a typical wood energy installation where it is fed from on-site generated wood waste can be achieved in as little as 12 months.

There is also regional support to invest in this type of renewable technology and it is recommended to either contact a supplier such as Talbotts, who can access this on your behalf, or your local business link for advice.