Robin Cotton

Robin Cotton
Managing Director
Head Office:
Pinkworthy Barn
Oakford, Tiverton,
Devon, EX16 9EU
Why Consider Wood Fuel?
A renewable fuel and CO2 neutral
Exempt from Climate Change Levy
Security of supply
UK will be a net importer of oil and gas in the very near future.
Wood fuel will be sourced locally increasing fuel security.
Price stability
Wood fuel in Europe has traditionally been very price stable
Potentially much lower fuel costs
Added value – forestry, farming, recycling….local
Automatic Wood Heating
Modern high efficiency biomass boilers incorporating state of the art control
technology provides equivalent or greater levels of efficiency and reliability as
fossil fuel boilers
Fully automatic feed
Automatic ignition
Capacity control
Remote system control and
monitoring
Typical efficiency 90% +
Very low ash remain – c.0.5-1.0%
Context
Energy White Paper [2003] set out 4 goals for
energy policy
To put the UK on a path to cut carbon dioxide
emissions by 60% by 2050
Maintain reliability of energy supplies
Promote competitive markets in the UK
Ensure that every home is adequately and affordably
heated
Government’s Biomass Task Force
Biomass task force lead by Sir Ben Gill published a report in 2005
“The potential to use biomass to reduce UK CO2 emissions is
significant. But the use of biomass also contributes to other
objectives notably security of energy supply and rural objectives”
1 million Hectares of land may be available for energy crops –
equivalent to 8 million ODT per year
5-6 million ODT of recycled wood per year
Forestry residues from existing wood land 1.5 -5 million ODT
depending on markets
Total of 16,000 million ODT available in medium term equivalent to
about 3% of UK’s internal energy consumption or about 10% of
the UK’s heating requirements.
Wood Heating in Mainland Europe
Share of Bioenergy in Austria
Year
Total biomass
Biomass for heating
Biomass for electricity
2000
11.4%
26.0%
1.0%
Biomass Heating in Austria since 1986
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
03
02
20
01
20
00
20
99
20
98
19
97
19
96
19
95
19
94
19
93
19
92
19
91
19
90
19
89
19
88
19
87
19
19
86
0
19
Source
Austrian Biomass Association
Automatic wood heating
is now a major industry in
most Northern European
Countries
80,000
Number of installations
2010
18.0%
40.0%
4.0%
Wood Boilers in UK Installed by WEL
Wood Energy Binder Installations/contracts
20,000
19,000
18,000
17,000
16,000
15,000
14,000
Capacity (kW)
13,000
12,000
11,000
10,000
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006 to date
Fuel costs in the UK, May 2006
6.5
6
5.5
5
p/kWh
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Wood chip
Wood pellet
Mains gas
Oil
LPG
Availability of wood chip
Forestry residues
Sawmill/joinery residues
Clean Recycled wood
Arboricultural arisings
Energy crops
Automatic wood-fired boilers can be used with a wide variety of
wood chip quality – dry or green wood, fine or large particle size.
However, the boiler system must be designed for a specific fuel
quality.
Underfed hearth
Fuels up to 35% moisture content
Step grate system
50 to 55% moisture content
High ash content fuels
Penrose Estate, Cornwall 2006
30kW system for a National Trust property for regional offices
and holiday accommodation. Grade 2 listed building.
Displaces about 5,000 litres of oil per year
Carbon Dioxide savings of about 13 tonnes per year
Penrose Estate, Cornwall 2006
Loyton Hotel, Devon 2003
250kW system, Devon, heating new hotel and three houses
Largest automatic biomass boiler in the South West until 2005
Displaces about 50,000 litres of oil per year
Current financial saving of c.£10,000/year
Carbon Dioxide savings of about 150 tonnes per year
!
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300kW step-grate, supplying base load heat to
the Bio-domes
24/7 operation, 365 days per year
Full range of biomass fuels
CO2 savings c. 500 tonnes per year
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300kW wood chip boiler heating “Eco timeshares”,
restaurant and open air swimming pool.
NAW Debating Chamber, Wales 2005
NAW - 360kW biomass boiler
Automatic gas ignition for smokeless operation
Due fuel – both wood chip and wood pellet
Saves approximately 200 tonnes of CO2 per year
Commissioned Oct. 2006, Official opening March 2006
,
Automatic ash removal from boiler
High-velocity air system
(HVA) cleaning of the
heat exchanger’s fire
tubes in frequent and
preset intervals without
interfering with normal
operation.
Cyclone to remove fly-ash from the
emissions
Llandrindod High School, Wales
450kW Step-grate machine
Maximum moisture 50%
20,000litre buffer tank
Remote monitoring & control
Nominated for environmental
award
!
.
Bath & West Showground, Somerset, 500kW
/
500kW step-grate heating glass
houses
Full range of biomass fuels
including “waste wood” from
households and park arisings
with high leaf and bark material
and high moisture content
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High efficiency automatic heating is a mature technology developed in
main land Europe over the last 25 years.
The biomass potential in the UK in the medium term is c. 16 million ODT
which is equivalent to 80TWh – equivalent to about 3% of UK primary
energy consumption or about 10% of the UK heat requirements
Major benefit to farming and forestry sectors – local in nature
Ingredients now right for a major expansion of wood heating systems in
the UK
o Mature technology available in the UK
o Full technical support for the technology
o Favourable economics for larger scale projects helped by increased
fossil fuel prices and government support
o Increasing number of high profile successful projects to promote the
technology and to build confidence in the industry
o Concern about security of fossil fuel supply
o Increased environmental awareness