Biomass boilers required by planners are mothballed in favour of cheaper gas alternatives
Landlords shun green power
Housing associations have been switching off environmentally friendly heating systems in favour of traditional power sources.
A number of London landlords have admitted they have found biomass boilers difficult to use in an urban setting because of the costs and carbon footprint of importing fuel. They have also reported some operational difficulties. The news came as the government launched a £19 billion follow-up to the decent homes programme to improve the sustainability of UK housing stock.
Housing associations in London embraced biomass heating because the London Plan requires new developments to use onsite renewable energy to cut carbon emissions.
A source at one large housing association confirmed it had switched off a biomass boiler on one of its developments because of maintenance problems, saying: ‘A lot of housing associations are just installing them to meet the target and then secretly running gas boilers instead.’
Although biomass is one of the more cost-effective renewable energy sources, it can be difficult to manage. Sources said the boilers need more maintenance than standard gas units, and there are very few reliable sources of the wood pellet fuel needed to run them in the UK. London developments find getting fuel particularly difficult, and often have to buy the pellets from other European countries and even Canada.
Paul Davies, group carbon manager for Wates Living Space, said he knew of three or four developments in which biomass boilers had been put in and later taken out, or where an alternative fuel source was being used, including the back-up boiler.
Catalyst Housing Group has installed biomass boilers on two of its sites, but says it plans to use gas boilers if the cost of wood pellets rises too high. Planning permission was granted on the proviso the developments would contain both types of boiler.
A source close to Notting Hill Housing alleged the association faced cost and fuel problems with a biomass boiler at its 12-home St Matthews scheme in Lewisham. A spokesperson for Notting Hill denied any problems. ‘Overall, the performance of the boiler has been satisfactory,’ she said.
Terry Keech, partner at construction consultancy Calfordseaden, said some developers were switching off biomass boilers in favour of gas back-up boilers, which are installed to provide extra capacity when biomass fuel is unavailable. He said housing associations were worried about getting deliveries of the wood chips and the cost of maintaining and cleaning the boilers.
The Greater London Authority was unable to comment.
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Readers' comments (6)
palaver | 05/03/2010 1:30 pm
As far as I know there are no UK manufacturers of wood pellets for biomass boilers so they must be sourced from Europe or even Canada as stated. This makes a mockery of claims that this form of heating is sustainable and eco-friendly.
Another issue is with Combined Heat and Power (CHP): the cost of the plant is very high, the plant needs a great deal of mainenance and the plant has a working life of only 5-7 years! So it ends up being a very expensive setup.
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| 06/03/2010 2:53 am
"The news came as the government launched a £19 billion follow-up to the decent homes programme to improve the sustainability of UK housing stock"
Err...don't we have the same national debt ratio to GDP as Greece? Can't see this "announcement" getting any further than that once the election is over and austerity measures kick in. Which is good as the whole concept is as bonkers as the entire AGW myth which drives it.
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SA | 08/03/2010 11:44 am
"As far as I know there are no UK manufacturers of wood pellets for biomass boilers so they must be sourced from Europe or even Canada as stated. This makes a mockery of claims that this form of heating is sustainable and eco-friendly."
This is incorrect. There are local suppliers such as Silvapower (S Yorks). Housing associations generally use these so that they cut down on transport miles for the biomass fuel.
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Stewart Boyle | 08/03/2010 4:17 pm
Like SA I am amazed that Palaver thinks there are no UK manufacturers of pellets. We have two UK plants producing 155,000 tonnes a year and offer bulk supply across the year. As far as costs go we are very competitive with gas and oil and offer up to 5-year Fixed price ocntracts. Our own experience is that when the contractor passes over to the landlord/FManagers as soon as problems arise the wood boiler is often just left alone as "too much hassle". Most of the problems are minor and could be fixed with modest effort.
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Neil Birnie | 12/03/2010 4:39 pm
There are 2 in Scotland That I know of, Puffin Pellets & Arbuthnott both in Aberdeenshire and are very very professional
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Steve Dolby | 30/01/2012 2:02 pm
I am shocked by this article and some of the comments linked to it. The facts are that the UK exports two thirds of its pellet production to mainland Europe as there is currently insufficient demand to satisfy here. Wood pellet boilers are using a fuel that is a not homogenous like gas or oil so there are a few issues involved in ensuring the fuel arrives in good condition and that the boilers are set to work with the pellet that is used.
A 1960's car, a 1980's computer or a 1990's vacuum cleaner did not work as a current version of all three. In fact a 1990's gas boiler could have been about 75% efficeient where the latest wood pellet boilers are 90% plus. The reality that will dawn on everybody over the next few years is that oil and gas stocks are diminishing - so will you freeze, go bankrupt buying sky high oil and gas or will you use wood pellets to heat your house? Difficult question? I don't think so - ask the German's and Austrian's who have been using wood pellet boilers for years as they had no oil or gas stocks.
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