Iain Watt

Ensuring the long-term sustainability of AD and biogas: lessons from biomass-for-power

Transcript

1. Iain Watt Principal Sustainability Adviser, Forum for the Future
2. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of AD and biogas: lessons from biomass-for-power Iain Watt, Forum for the Future February 13, 2013 2
3. 3 Our Network
4. 4 Some recent projects And, watch this space, The Farm as Power Station…
5. 5 Forum is working with RWE npower to explore the role that biomass could and should play in a sustainable energy system. We’re helping evaluate the implications of switching Tilbury power station from coal to biomass – not only in terms of the direct impacts arising from the procurement of wood pellets, but also in terms of the potential wider impact if the Tilbury conversion helps catalyse wider investment in biomass-for-power. Our experience with biomass-for-power
6. Food vs Fuel 6 Lesson 1: There are competing demands on land…
7. (Bread vs Doughnuts vs Beer vs Dog Food) vs Fuel 7
8. Food vs Fuel vs Textiles vs Plastics vs Packaging vs Ecosystem Services vs Biodiversity vs Recreation vs Fish food 8
9. Bread vs Skylarks vs Bioethanol vs Flood control vs Hares vs Mountain biking vs Doughnuts vs Anaerobic Digestion vs Pollination vs Dormice vs Horseriding vs Wood pellets vs Crisps vs Biopolymers vs Paint balling vs Pork vs Biobutanol vs Water availability vs Stag Beetles vs Fishing vs Chicken vs Yellowhammers vs Biochar vs Jeans vs Bats vs Beef vs Animal feed vs Camping vs Tree sparrows vs Dog food vs Soil fertility vs Hen Harriers vs Milk vs Biogas vs T-shirts vs Badgers vs Country walks vs Water quality vs Water voles vs Potatoes vs Beer vs Cow tipping vs Energy self-sufficiency vs Cabbages vs Cabbage Whites vs Shoes vs Carbon sinks vs Nightingales vs Cheese vs Bed linen vs Biodiesel vs Muesli vs Partridges vs Compostable packaging vs Hedgehogs vs… 9
10. Food and Fuel (and Textiles and Plastics and Packaging and Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity and Recreation and Fish food?) 10
11. And they will change • as we enter an age of increasing resource scarcity and competition, in a world where production is increasingly constrained by climate change, land usage will come under increasing scrutiny 11 …but few ‘user’ groups are thinking through how these competing demands will play out over time
12. 12 Lesson 2: New problems arise at scale
13. 13 Lesson 3: Indirect land-use/substitution impacts will determine future sustainability Yet there is currently no means of measuring – never mind preventing – them
14. 14 Lesson 4: Headlines are rarely complex…
15. 15 Nor are campaign messages…
16. 16 especially when purpose-grown crops are involved… Lesson 5: The legacy of biofuels looms large
17. 17 Be open and honest; with challenges and uncertainties as well as benefits Lesson 6: Transparency is key
18. 18 Lesson 7: Overall industry performance will determine how your efforts are portrayed Even if your own supply chain is sustainable, if public opinion turns against the industry, then all – even the best performers – are at risk
19. 19 1) Use certified feedstocks 2) Source only from regions where overall land-use is well- governed (eg, for timber, Canada) 3) Monitor, pay heed to, understand, and help develop systems to tackle indirect and substitution impacts… Our [Draft] recommendations for biomass- for-power:
20. Our overarching vision is to have all farms in the UK generating their own sustainable energy by 2020 – and that this has, in turn, helped establish a more decentralised and community-led energy system across the UK. The Farm as Power Station
21. To move towards this objective, we want to: •explore and outline the potential role that farms/rural communities could/should play in a sustainable energy system – applying a systemic approach that explicitly considers the long-term sustainability implications of different technologies and approaches; •better understand current barriers to sustainable farm-based energy – and identify potential drivers of change; •Build a diverse and effective coalition to tackle these barriers, and create the conditions where sustainable farm energy are the easy, obvious and profitable option for farmers and rural communities alike. The Farm as Power Station
22. thank you Iain Watt | i.watt@forumforthefuture.org forumforthefuture.org | registered charity no. 1040519 22