NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday 26th April 2011.  For immediate release.
 
Response to ‘Biomass plant can strengthen Dundee's bid to become renewables hub’ in the Courier on 25.4.2011
 
FORTH ENERGY’S ‘RENEWABLE’ ENERGY PLANS NOT GREEN, SAY ENVIRONMENTALISTS
 
The biomass plant proposed for Dundee would burn up to one million tonnes of imported wood each year, and should not be seen as clean, green energy, Friends of the Earth Tayside [1] said today.
 
Forth Energy have already come under fire from environmental groups in the USA [2] and UK for lack of clarity about where the wood will come from, and for refusing to commit to any binding sustainability standards.
 
“While Forth Energy say they want to produce renewable energy, it is important to recognise that there is a big difference between types of ‘renewable’ energy,” said Andrew Llanwarne from Friends of the Earth Tayside. “While wood is, in theory, a renewable energy source, the reality depends on the rates at which it is burnt and replaced by new forests.  At the intended rate of combustion, the proposed Dundee biomass plant would make a major contribution to increased carbon emissions and climate change long before replacement trees could re-absorb the carbon.
 
“Wind, wave, tidal and solar power rely on sources of energy that are unlimited, and are therefore truly renewable, producing no carbon emissions.  While we welcome Calum Wilson’s enthusiasm for this type of industry in Dundee, he has admitted his power station does not need to be built for these other sectors to invest here.
 
“It is worrying that Forth Energy is trying to link itself to Dundee’s potential ‘renewable energy hub’ in order to gain support to build an energy plant that would speed up the rate of removal of the world’s remaining forests.  The four power stations proposed by Forth Energy would burn the equivalent of 60% of the UK’s total wood production – but sourced on the world market.

“Forth Energy also seeks to make a virtue of the production of heat, when in fact an efficient combined heat and power station would produce a much higher level of heat output than is being planned [3].

“And it argues that the biomass plant would help tackle the problem of insecurity of supply of oil and gas from politically unstable countries abroad, even though it would be largely dependent on imported timber from uncertain sources.

“In short, Forth Energy is trying to gather support for this development on the basis that it is sustainable, when it is precisely the opposite.  These arguments for and against the project will need to be fully assessed by the Scottish Government following the election.”
 
ENDS

For further information please contact Andrew Llanwarne, Friends of the Earth Tayside, on 0791 294 5325.
 
Notes to editors
[1] Friends of the Earth Tayside is a group of locally based volunteers that campaigns for environmental justice and a healthy planet for everyone.
 
[2] As previously reported in the Scottish media, American groups have written an open to letter to the Scottish Government expressing concern about Forth Energy’s plans and the potential impact on forests in the USA. See http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/biomass-us-objection for more details.

[3] Forth Ports plans to produce 100mw of electricity and 30mw of heat.  An efficient CHP system would produce 2-3 times as much heat as electricity.