BiomassasaStrategicEnergyStore

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has identified the potential of biomass to provide ‘a renewable low carbon power source’ that can be used as dispatchable generation to ‘help meet demand during times of low wind and solar output’, contributing to the delivery of a more resilient energy supply. However, where carbon capture and storage (CCS) is installed to create a ‘negative emissions’ Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) system, NESO suggests that higher load factors would be desirable to ‘maximise carbon removal from the atmosphere’. They also point to the Climate Change Committee’s advice to UK Government, which identified BECCS as the ‘best long-term use of scarce bioenergy resources’ in an energy generation context.

This project will explore the potential for biomass to act as a strategic store of energy within the UK energy system and the implications of the NESO’s strategy on the biomass sector in the short, medium and long-term. It will seek to develop a demonstrably independent evidence base, drawing on knowledge from public, private and third-sector stakeholders to support a more detailed analysis of this transition that can be used to maximise the value biomass can deliver to a low carbon economy.

The project will be driven by the following three objectives:

• Review the evidence on the potential of sustainably produced biomass from a range of sources to act as strategic stores of energy and provide system flexibility services at a range of scales, identifying any gaps.
• Understand the combinations of technology, feedstock and geographical location that are most likely to facilitate the delivery of BECCS; provide a better understanding of the timescales for this transition; and explore where energy production from biomass without CCS may persist for longer whilst still delivering overall system benefits.
• Explore the implications (commercial, economic, environmental, social and technical) for both fuel supply chains and the energy system of optimising the use of biomass in these contexts.