News

Carbon Trust calls for massive switch to biomass heating

Thursday 22 January 2009

Wood-based heating systems offer cost and carbon savings to businesses and the public sector.

Businesses and public sector organisations could benefit by switching from oil, gas and electric heating to biomass, according to "Biomass Heating, A Practical Guide", published today by the Carbon Trust. Financial pressures and the coldest start to a winter in over 30 years make reducing heating bills a priority. However, by working with biomass heating projects across the UK, the Carbon Trust has found that a lack of understanding of the technology and its potential benefits is preventing wider uptake.

Biomass heating offers most significant cost savings in parts of the UK which are not currently on the gas grid. For example, using wood or straw can provide cost savings of 2-4 p/kWh (pence per kilowatt hour) relative to use of heating oil. A biomass system generating 1,600MWh of heat (roughly equivalent to the annual heating requirements of a typical school) could therefore save up to £50,000 per year on fuel costs relative to an existing oil-based heating system. The costs of biomass fuels also tend to be much less volatile than fossil fuels.

To read the full story please see the Carbon Trust website