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SUPPLY problems are jeopardising UK plans to significantly scale-up power generation from renewable biomass, an independent report says.

The environmental consultancy Verdantix warns that despite considerable investment in biomass processing, the UK will only be able to supply 5–10% of its demand for biomass by 2014. Importing the remaining 90–95% exposes power generators to considerable supply chain risks, while the longer transport routes potentially erode the environmental benefit of burning biomass.

With seven major new biomass projects due to start up in the next three years including Prenergy’s 300 MW wood chip-fired power plant at Port Talbot, Drax Power’s three proposed 300 MW biomass power plants in Yorkshire and MGT Power’s 300 MW project on Teesside, Verdantix warns that demand for biomass will far outweigh what local supply can deliver. “Projects will be hindered by the size of required capital expenditure, fragile local supply chains and the size of plots required to build and operate biomass units and fuel storage facilities,” the report Smart vendors: biomass supply chain (UK) says.

This dependence on imports makes the industry vulnerable to political instability and price hikes, the report warns. A separate report by the Forestry Commission already said that demand for wood as biomass will cause timber imports to rise from 20m t in 2009 to 50m t in 2015. Prenergy’s Port Talbot plant alone will consume an estimated 3m t/y of wood, 90% of which will be imported.

The UK currently aims to generate 15% of its renewable energy from biomass by 2020.