Biomass Heating

Wood chip is produced from the chipping of wood, historically from forestry thinnings, but increasingly from energy crops such as miscanthus and short rotation coppice. Pellets provide a more consistent and controllable fuel source than chips or logs, which can be advantageous where air quality is a concern. Wood chip is cheaper but less refined, and wood chip appliances can require higher manual intervention than pellet appliances. As biomass boilers operate more efficiently, if left to run continuously they should be implemented as community heating systems, where multiple dwellings are involved. This ensures the most efficient use of the available biomass resources.

Biomass has a carbon factor of 0.025 kgCO2/kWh which is very low compared with fossil fuels. Thus many new developments have employed biomass as it has the potential to reduce carbon emissions significantly at a reasonable capital cost. The UK Biomass Strategy provides an indication as to the UK-wide potential for biomass.

Modern biomass combustion appliances are clean burning and mostly ‘clean air act exempt'. They can however cause higher NOx and PM10 emissions. Moreover, emissions arising from the transport of biomass must be evaluated on a project by project basis - both in terms or embodied carbon of the fuel and localized air quality issues. Sourcing fuel within a 50 mile radius is generally deemed acceptable. The UK Renewable Energy Strategy consultation states that biomass should be local and sustainable, but also notes that the significant growth in the market may well require biomass to be imported.