..A must read for for every US voter and concerned citizen.. challenges the reader to explore new possibilities and new mindsets that will ultimately be required if the world is truly ready to make a change.. amazon.com US onlyWritten answers and statements, 7 January 2010
Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress his Department has made in defining its biomass sustainability criteria.
David Kidney (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Energy and Climate Change; Stafford, Labour)
holding answer 6 January 2010
The Government's approach to defining sustainability criteria for biomass is set out in the UK Renewable Energy Strategy, launched in July.We are awaiting the European Commission's report on the requirement for a sustainability scheme for solid and gaseous biomass used for heat and electricity, which was due by 31 December 2009. This report shall be accompanied, where appropriate, with proposals to the European Parliament and Council.
We will then consider this report and its implications for introducing sustainability criteria for the biomass used for heat and electricity in the UK.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2010-01-07a.308252.h&s=biofuel
2.
Written answers and statements, 5 January 2010
Lord Laird (Crossbench)
To ask Her Majesty's Government what encouragement they are giving to the railway industry to improve its environmental efficiency. Lord Adonis (Secretary of State, Department for Transport; Labour)
In the 2007 rail White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, the Government committed to setting an environmental target for the railway in control period 5 (2014-19). This is under development.In addition, the Department for Transport has included environmental objectives in recent rail franchise specifications requiring operators to report on environmental performance and put in place measures to reduce environmental impacts.
The department is also working closely with rail stakeholders on a range of initiatives to improve rail's environmental efficiency, for example, through the rollout of regenerative braking on electric trains and trialling the use of biofuels in diesel trains.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2010-01-05a.74.6&s=biofuel#g74.8
3.
Written answers and statements, 5 January 2010
Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister (Energy), Energy and Climate Change; Wealden, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons he decided that grandfathering rights on the basis of those applied to offshore wind projects should not apply to regular biomass projects. David Kidney (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Energy and Climate Change; Stafford, Labour)
'Government Response to the Statutory Consultation on the Renewables Obligation Order 2009', published in December 2008, we set out our decision not to grandfather existing biomass and waste plants following evidence from the biomass industry:"that grandfathering existing stations at 1 ROC/MWh while banding up new stations would be detrimental to a competitive market for the fuel stock ... [as] existing plants could not have reasonably anticipated the introduction of banding, and made any contingency for this. We ... therefore decided to allow existing plants to be banded up and receive the same level of support as new plants. ... As the principle of banding has now been established we believe that there is less reason to treat biomass stations as a special case."
However, we are currently carrying out work with the Renewables Advisory Board, the Renewable Energy Association and biomass stakeholders to assess whether moves in biomass fuel prices might warrant such action at the next banding review starting October 2010.http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2010-01-05b.305181.h&s=biofuel
4.
Written answers and statements, 5 January 2010
Nia Griffith (Llanelli, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to monitor the level of use of each source of biomass fuel.
Joan Ruddock (Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change; Lewisham, Deptford, Labour)
The Government publish statistics on the annual use of biomass fuel in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics. Chapter 7 provides a breakdown by source. Further information relating to fuel use by power plants registered for the renewables obligation is kept by Ofgem on their searchable Renewable and CHP Register at:https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0
In addition, the UK renewables obligation (RO) scheme introduced, on 1 April 2009, a reporting requirement to monitor the sustainability of biomass, including information such as country of origin of the fuel.http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2010-01-05b.307626.h&s=biofuel
5.
Written answers and statements, 5 January 2010
Stephen Williams (Bristol West, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change(1) what his policy is on the future allocation of renewable obligation certificates per unit of electricity produced by biofuels;
(2) whether he plans to review the allocation of renewable obligation certificates per unit of electricity produced by biofuels.
David Kidney (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Energy and Climate Change; Stafford, Labour)
The banding levels (number of renewables obligation certificates (ROCs) per megawatt hour) for all technologies will be reviewed periodically at specified dates. The first scheduled review is due to come into effect on 1 April 2013, with work beginning in October 2010. In the case of biofuels, this will also take account of the strategic assessment which the Government will be undertaking next year on priorities for the use of biomass.http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2010-01-05b.309166.h&s=biofuel
[Ends]
