Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Bioenergy Country Notes

United Kingdom

Municipal solid waste *
quantity of raw material available	3.7	million tonnes
electricity generating capacity	321 400	kW
electricity generation	5 551	TJ
direct use from combustion	6 255	TJ
total energy production	11 806	TJ
Wood & forestry/wood processing
quantity of raw material available	1.1	million tonnes
direct use from combustion	11 937	TJ
Agricultural residues **
quantity of raw material available	1.1	million tonnes
electricity generating capacity	186 100	kW
electricity generation	3 078	TJ
direct use from combustion	3 094	TJ
total energy production	6 172	TJ
Biomass co-fired with fossil fuels
quantity of raw material available ***	2	million tonnes
electricity generating capacity	308 800	kW
electricity generation	9 112	TJ
Landfill gas
electricity generating capacity	817 800	kW
electricity generation	15 444	TJ
Sewage sludge digestion
electricity generating capacity	127 900	kW
electricity generation	1 440	TJ

* Including non-biodegradable wastes, which account for about 40% of the total.

** Includes farm waste, poultry litter, meat and bone, straw and energy crops.

*** In 2005, of the 2 million tonnes of biomass used for co-firing, 1.8 million was imported and 0.2 was home produced.

In 2005 consumption of biodiesel and bioethanol was almost all from imported sources, but amounts were comparatively small.

The

also used landfill gas and sewage gas for the production of heat and electricity and classifies these as biofuels.

The White Paper Meeting the Energy Challenge (May 2007) announced the Government’s intention to strengthen the Renewables Obligation (RO), increasing the RO to ‘up to 20% as and when increasing amounts of renewables are deployed’ and introducing banding of the RO in order to provide differentiated support to the various renewable technologies. In this latter connection, particular mention was made of the need to bring forward offshore wind and biomass.