Proposal to build:

REGIONAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE

Author: Melanie Rideout
Helius 100MW staton burning 850,000 tns of wood a year in North East Bristol

GEOGRPAHICAL AREA THAT MAY BE
AFFECTED
BIOFUELWATCH Campaign
ACSEB Action for Sustainable Energy for Bristol
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH; Run on Sun Campaign (which is promoting solar
panels to be put on public property)

INITIATIVES IN PLACE

KEY ISSUES
In March 2010 Helius Energy plc got planning permission fromthe Department of Energy and
Climate Change (DECC), under Section 36 of The Electricity Act 1989, effectively bypassing the
normal local planning process, for a 100MW dedicated biomass power station at the North
end of Avonmouth Docks (see fig. 1) It will burn around 850,000 green tonnes of biomass
(mostly imported wood) a year. There are fears that this will trigger land grabs, as has been
the case in Brazil, in addition to accelerating deforestation and biodiversity loss as land is
grabbed in order to meet the demand for wood to supply biomass burning stations. Due to the
inefficiency of the practise, research has shown, that despite claims of a 722,000 tonne annual
carbon saving, wood chip burning is in fact more damaging to the environment than coal.
Wood chip burning will produce significant local NO2 and small particulate pollution which
has severe public health impacts.
Helius Energy has failed to secure finance since 2010, however in October 2013 it was includ-
ed on HM Treasurys UK Guarantee Scheme shortlist of pre-qualified projects for public mon-
ey to guarantee private loans to private developers of key infrastructure projects. HM Treas-
ury will also consider stepping in with a cash injection if finance is not forthcoming.
Sustainability Issues

Main Drivers
FRAMING THE ISSUE: What constitutes a sustainable project? Sustainability, when considering development pro-
jects, assumes that there is equal weighting and consideration to the three spheres that comprise Sustainable De-
velopment. More precisely, economic, environmental and social factors must all have the equal amount of consid-
eration when setting project goals and outcomes for said project to be considered sustainable. A project poses a
sustainability challenge when it does not meet these requirements, for example, when there is greater emphasis on
the profit generated (economic sphere) and a disinterest in the negative environmental or social externalities. The
Helius Biomass Power Station project poses a regional sustainability challenge, as it is widely disregards the envi-
ronmental, social, and greater economic negative factors. The negative social and environmental impact of the pro-
ject, which the following sections hope to illustrate, results in the conclusion that the Helius Power station is in fact
a huge regional sustainability challenge.
Fig. 1
Approx. area that
will be affected by
the pollution pro-
duced by the burning
of wood pellets.
HM TresuryThe Treasury and Government are very keen to back a Renewable Energy project. This is for
many reasons, first in order to comply with EU standards regarding National carbon reduction. Additional-
ly, this project is seen as an infrastructural investment, which aims to result in economic growth, job crea-
tion, international trade flow, and some formof energy autonomy.
HeliusThe company who is responsible for the project is a key player in maintaining momentum
Local/ Regional businessA vested interest in the project's successful implementation. There are high
profits in this commodity supply chain.

INDUSTRIAL SCALE BIOFUEL POWER PLANT IN URBAN
AREA, SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE? CCONCLUSIONS
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA THAT MAY BE AFFECTED
The total population of Bristol city is 450, 000, Avonmouth houses almost
15% of all residents, and is located in the North West of the city, an indus-
trial zone. The Helius proposal site is illustrated above by the red dot. The
black circle roughly demonstrates the potential area that will be affected by
the air pollution fromthe wood burning biomass power station.
There have been many reports fromresidents in regard to a woodchip pro-
cessing plant based at the docks. WAaste timber and other plant biomass, is
turned it into wood chippings to be exported for use in generating electrici-
ty . Residents said that since the dust first appeared in October last year
covering their gardens, cars, and homes they had been blighted by colds,
chest infections, sore throats and coughs.
Avonmouth is located 10miles from Bristol city centre, if there is a strong
north easterly wind, there is a strong probability the wood chip pollution,
dust and other particles maz start affecting an even greater part of Bristols
residents.
Economic: The project relies heavily on government subsidies to function, in addition to part of its profit
reliance on the governments Green Deal RoC Scheme. The scheme was initiated in the hope of encourag-
ing renewable energy, the government acts as a trader and pays a premiumprice for electricity froma
Renewable certified source (although there is no regulatory body overseeing this certification). The ROC
banding reviewwas passed into lawon 6 March 2013, giving palm-oil, along with other bioliquids, a sub-
sidy of 1.5 ROCs/kWh. This was despite opposition fromcommittee members and MP opposition.
Environmental: Hugely inefficient, contributes more to global warming than conventional coal power sta-
tions, are on average wood chip burning is 30% efficient 70% of the energy in the fuel is wasted in
heat. Virgin forests and the wildlife are destroyed to create mono-culture plantations to supply the de-
mand.
Social: Land is grabbed fromindigenous people and their way of life destroyed in countries supplying wood
(i.e. Brazil, Ecuador). Wood dust, which will blowover the local area (outline fig. 1) , is a carcinogen, as dan-
gerous as asbestos.
The UK Governments 2012 Bioenergy Strategy states that bioenergy could provide between 8 and 11% of
the UKs primary energy demand in 2020 i.e. the majority of the countrys overall renewable energy target
of 15% by that date. The bulk of this figure would come fromburning wood. 42 newbiomass power stations
are currently proposed across the UK. If all of these are built, we will need up to 69 million tonnes of wood
per year. In 2012 the UK imported 3.7m tonnes of woody biomass. We will have to import at least 80% of
the biomass we want to burn by 2020. This is already encouraging an increase in logging of highly bio di-
verse old-growth forests around the world. Purpose-built biomass power stations like the one proposed can
burn wood from a variety of sources, including woodchips and pellets from eucalyptus and other fast-
growing tree plantations.

Their operators would be particularly likely to look for cheap supplies from fast-growing tropical and sub-
tropical plantations, which have been drivers of deforestation and human rights abuses. Biomass power sta-
tions emit harmful pollutants into the atmosphere which can damage the health of people living near to
them. These are not just combustion emissions but also cancer causing wood dust.
Burning biomass in power stations causes similar levels of pollution as burning coal, though biomass emits
less of some pollutants (especially sulphur dioxide and mercury) and more of others (such as very small
particulates, called PM2.5, and Volatile Organic Compounds). We cannot afford even a short-term rise in
emissions at a time when the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere must be stabilised and reduced immediate-
ly.
Residents near wood chipping facilities in the UK have reported medical complaints including fa-
tigue, respiratory and nasal problems, frequent colds, chest infections, sore throats and coughs. Dust from
chemically treated wood is a known carcinogen and an accepted cause of asthma and dermatitis, and has
been linked to allergic and non- allergic respiratory effects and various nasal problems.

Studies from the United States have found evidence that polluting industries often have a disproportionate
impact on more deprived communities, including lower class communities and communities of colour.
While insufficient research has been conducted on this topic in the UK, studies in recent years have found a
geographic relationship between factory location, levels of air pollution and poverty. An investigation by
Biofuelwatch in 2013 found that biomass power stations in England are located in areas which are relative-
ly more deprived.

In conclusion, Helius poses a massive sustainability challenge in the local area, as it succumbs to economic
profit, for very fewat a taxpayer pricewhilst disregarding the international, environmental and social
factors.