A new report by the House of Commons environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee says Britain “lags” behind other countries such as Austria and Denmark, where woodfuel heating systems are commonplace.
The document, the findings of the committee’s “Climate change: the role of bioenergy” inquiry, urges the government to work harder to equip itself with scientific and economic research and to increase support for the generation of bioenergy from a range of sources.
The committee says there are only 150 biomass boilers using wood pellets in the UK, despite evidence that biomass can be cost-effective when compared to conventional domestic electricity and could reduce household carbon emissions by 3%. It recommends the government spends more time focusing on the development of renewable heat, not just electricity, from biomass.
“We are disappointed that the government has failed to take the opportunity offered by its Energy Review to properly address the issue of biomass heat, and has only committed to producing the Biomass Strategy ‘over the coming year,’” the report says.
The committee is calling for the government to publish the Biomass Strategy at the “earliest possible opportunity”. It recommends the government sets clear and quantifiable targets for biomass heat in the strategy.
