The European commission has launched an investigation into the UK’s plans to support the conversion of part of its Drax coal power plant to biomass. The commission, which late last year gave approval for the German energy group RWE to undertake a similar conversion at its Lynemouth plant, wants to ensure the Drax plans are in line with EU state aid rules. The carbon footprint is reduced by 86% by burning wood pellets rather than coal, according to figures audited by PwC. The commission said it “fully supports member state efforts to increase the use of renewable energy and pursue EU energy and climate objectives. At the same time, EU state aid rules ma ke sure that the cost of such support for consumers is limited and does not give certain operators an unfair advantage over competitors.”
Guardian 5th Jan 2016 read more »
Telegraph 5th Jan 2015 read more »
British Airways says that it has been forced to shelve a groundbreaking £340m scheme to create 16m gallons of jet fuel from London’s rubbish every year, partly due to a lack of government support. The Green Sky project was due to open in 2017 at an ex-oil refinery in Thurrock, Essex, where it would have turned into gas 575,000 tonnes of household waste that would otherwise have been landfilled or incinerated. Enough green fuel would have been produced to power all BA’s yearly flights from London City airport twice over, with carbon savings equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road. But BA told the Guardian that the project had now been mothballed partly because of low crude oil prices, jitters among investors, and a lack of policy engagement from 10 Downing Street.
Guardian 6th Jan 2016 read more »