Analysis of UK and US Initiatives for Promoting Biomass and Biofuels

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report compares the effectiveness of RHI and RFS in promoting renewable energy.

Biomass, Biofuels and Solar Energy
Technology
(2019)
Section A:
Global Biomass and Biofuels Incentives

Index

Introduction
Globalization has played a huge role in the development of fuel-dependent technologies and
increasing the use of such technologies. There are many policies and legislation created by the
UK government which promotes the use of biochemical fuels and biomass. Biofuels play an
important role in preserving natural resources and reducing the use of carbon-emitting fuels.
Under the Paris Climate conference (COP21) there are some targets to be achieved by the EU
and some initiatives in question. In this report, the aim is to assess the available national
initiative models, to find the issues involved in these methodologies and to determine which one
is more effective for the EU.

About Biomass & Biofuels
The use of fossil fuels and natural gas for transportation and power has been in practice for many
years. But the increasing use of these fuels became a major global concern and threat to the
environment. The machines and vehicles using these fuels emit a huge amount of greenhouse
gases. There is a need for a suitable substitution for fossil fuels. Biodegradable wastes are a great
source of energy and can be used to generate biofuels. The biofuel is a very efficient and clean
source of energy that can be used as transportation fuel, a power source in households, and are
cheaper than fossil fuels.
Image 1: Biomass Types
Methodologies
For this research report, a deep understanding of the initiatives by the UK and US is done. These
initiatives promoting the use of biomass and renewable source of energy need to be analyzed in
order to generate a better knowledge about biomass consumption. In order to promote the use of
such clean and cheap fuel, there are several regulations and laws administered by the UK
government. In this report, a deep understanding of the two existing initiative models is done.
These models are:
 The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) – in the UK.
 The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) – in the US

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
This initiative is implemented to help the United Kingdom in reducing the use of carbon-emitting
fuels and reduce the amount of carbon emission. The RHI is a government initiative having the
sole purpose of promoting the use of renewable and clean energy resource amongst people in the
UK. Financial incentives are provided to those who follow this initiative regularly. The Domestic
RHI was launched on 9th April 2014. Since then a huge number of people have joined this cause
and became a part of this initiative by and they have availed their incentives. Property owners,
landlords, private builders, and housing services are some of the entities that can apply for the
support from RHI. The incentives to be provided to these entities are calculated through meters
that determined the overall heat output.
It is not necessary that all the heating systems that use renewable energy source are confirmed
for the RHI. Some of the heating systems approved are:
 Stoves and boilers using biomass only,
 Air and ground sourced Heat Pumps, and
 Solar panels for heat generation.

Image 2: Air Source Heat Pump
Advantages and Positive Impact
1. Great progress made in the industries of solar thermal energy.
2. Coupling the biomass with the ground source pumps increases the efficiency of the
system.
3. Fuel poverty can also be addressed by RHI.
4. Considerably lower energy bills in households.
5. Reduced carbon emission and greenhouse gases emission.
6. Low-cost energy generation that also provides good incentives and job opportunities.
Image 3: Ground Source Heat Pump
Disadvantages and Negative Impact
1. For some industries moving towards renewable energy, the remaining industries must pay
their shift.

2. Installation of the renewable heat will be limited due to replacement policies of the
owners.
3. Longer permitting process may promote the use of alternate ways that are to right.
4. Less energy efficient.
5. Needs better and precise accounting for the purpose of providing incentives.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)
RFS was established as an amendment by Congress. According to the Clean Air Act, it is
mandatory for the transportation fuel used in the US to have a minimum biofuel present in it.
This minimum requirement for the amount of biofuel (including both the conventional and the
advanced biofuel) will eventually increase. Such implementation of the biomass must meet
certain feedstock and environmental criteria. RFS was established by the Energy Policy Act of
2005. A combination of advanced and conventional biofuel is used in RFS. The advanced biofuel
is a combination of biomass-based diesel, cellulosic biofuel, and other advanced biofuels. The
approximate increment in the presence of biofuel is expected to be 58% in 2022.
Advantages
1. Promotes the use of renewable fuel to reduce the dependency on oil imported from other
countries.
2. This independence of energy means the security of energy.
3. Mandatory use of renewable fuel is also justified.
4. Promotes the use of ethanol which is an environment-friendly fuel.
5. Promotes the growth of crop cultivation and harvesting sectors and supports farmers.
Disadvantages
1. The increased blending of ethanol in the gasoline will generate major problems in the car
engine.
2. Rise in the price of corn crops due to the ethanol mandate.
3. Refiner needs to buy expensive credits if they do not meet the mixing goals.
4. High energy needed for the conversion process which neutralizes the overall carbon
emission.
5. Can result in higher food prices and make the food scarcity even worse.

Literature Reviews
The following reviews are made based on the researches made by individuals which will help in
the analysis and knowledge generation regarding the implementation and application of the
initiatives efficient for the UK.
Paris Climate Conference (COP21)
In December 2018, 195 countries agreed to a deal to legally bind the global climate. This
agreement was to avoid harmful changes in the climate by controlling global warming. The
targets and the strategies for the climate were:
 “2020 climate-energy package” which includes targets like 20% decrement in the
emission of greenhouse gases, renewable energy should consist EU’s 20% energy
consumption and energy efficiency improvement of about 20%.
 “2030 Framework” which includes targets like 40% cut in the emission of
greenhouse gases, renewable energy should share EU’s 32% energy usage and
improvement in the energy efficiency of about 32.5% Climate Action - European
Commission (2019).
Need for RHI/RFS initiatives
According to Modassar Chaudry (2015), it is very difficult to predict the response of the
domestic RHI. There are some financial barriers and technological challenges in the
implementation of the heat pumps. There is a need for the management of electricity distribution
system to support a higher rate of heat pumps. It is necessary to extend the RHI subsidy in order
to maintain constant growth of heat pumps. An extended RHF program could help in making the
heat pumps more competitive. A stable acceptance of the heat pumps will be very beneficial in
the learning process. This will require some cost reductions for the heat pump implementation.
Thus, initiatives like RFS and RHI are necessary for any government to encourage the public in
using a renewable source of energy. This will ultimately have a positive impact on the UK’s
annual carbon emission and global warming contribution.

Intend of RHI/RFS initiative
Today, sustainability with a necessary environmental objective is of paramount need and
prominent in a lot of national policies. These initiatives need to be implemented in a way so that
the people can understand them as well as get encouraged to use follow them. Biofuel is used as
an example to explain the need to use the renewable source of energy. Biofuels can be used as a
replacement for conventional fuel. The use of biomass has a goal of generating energy security
and promoting agricultural activities. Objectives are applied to biofuels to decrease annual
carbon emission of the UK.
Image 4: Tariffs paid/heat created
The Methodology and Financial resources required
For RHI to be successful it should be simple and easier to understand. Use of RFI should be
encouraged by providing incentives and should become a sector to deliver jobs and skills to the
UK. Use of existing energy distribution is viable for RHI and different approaches should be
made in off-grid localities. The RHI would possibly experience the annual cost of £2.4 billion
near 2020. This will result in an increase in gas bills in the household and industries.
RFS was established under the Clean Air Act which will need EPA to apply RFI fuel
requirements every ear. These increase in the requirement of the use of ethanol is the main

feature of this initiative. It is not incentivized but forced on the people to follow it. Some of the
financial issues incurred due to the implementation of RFS by the people are; expensive
modifications needed in the car engines, cost of designing new machines which can use ethanol,
costly credits to be bought by non-followers, high ethanol extraction cost, etc.
Issues associated with the use of Biomass and Biofuels
 Environment-related problems such as emission of carbon dioxide in the generation of
Biofuels, afforestation which results in an increase in the percentage of CO2 in the
atmosphere, cutting down trees to use them as biomass fuel, etc.
 Pollution from Biomass Energy is also an issue. Ethanol combustion is incomplete and
leaves black carbon as a byproduct. Ethanol damages car engines and if used for a long
time harms the environment.
 Extensive use of food crops generates food scarcity in many areas and increases food
prices. Biomass production is also a costly process.
Issues Encountered after Implementation
Some of the issues encountered after the implementation of RHI consists of some flaws in the
incentive programs and how it can be manipulated or gamed, the way it can be used as a “Cash
Cow”, the problems in the uptake of heat engines and their installation cost, etc. These are some
of the issues encountered by the RHI initiative.
RFS is a US regulation which mandates the presence of a minimum amount of ethanol in the
conventional fuel. Due to this people, not following the initiative, have by expensive credits, the
ethanol production is costly which neutralize the overall cost incurred in fuel consumption, use
of crops to generate ethanol results in food scarcity and increase food prices.
Result and Discussion
Globalization and industrialization have resulted in an increase in the number of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere which in turn results in global warming. To reduce these global warming
effects and move towards a clean climate there is a need to implement various initiatives to

reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. To contribute to the reduction of world pollution, the
UK needs to determine the best initiative for which is efficient in energy production, less costly
and easily understandable by the people.
According to the study done on the two major initiatives the choice of the initiative that is most
effective for the UK is made. The RFS focuses mainly on the transportation industry and
encourages the use of ethanol mixed with conventional fuel. The concept seems to be cost
effective and energy efficient. But the outcome of the study does not really support this
assumption. The ethanol generation consumes a lot of energy which equalizes the overall energy
consumption and the high generation cost and increase in the price of the food crop is caused by
this initiative.
On the other hand, the RHI incentive is a program that helps in increasing the use of renewable
resources and can help the UK for reducing the annual carbon emission. The uptake and
implementation of the heat engines in the household can be expensive but the incentives
provided by the government encourages the people to follow RHI. If the incentive distribution
system is managed properly, the RHI initiative can result in an effective program for the UK as
compared to the RFS initiatives.