THIS magazine recently reported on Britain鈥檚 bid to generate large amounts of electricity by burning biomass (30 November 2002, p 8). In the vanguard is the 拢79-million Eggborough Biomass Plant (also known as ARBRE) in North Yorkshire. It is supposed to be Britain鈥檚 first power station fuelled by fast-growing willow coppice. But ARBRE was forced to close after only eight days of operation, and the magazine was critical of the Department of Trade and Industry for backing technologies which were too immature to generate power commercially. I asked Brian Wilson, the energy minister what he thought.
ARBRE is to be reprieved, said Wilson. A number of interested parties are negotiating to take it to full commercial operation. It was specifically designed to show that 鈥済asification鈥� technology using biomass is technically and commercially viable. Wilson shares the concerns of the many farmers who invested much to provide the project with fuel stock. When the new contract is decided it will use locally available fuel.
ARBRE showed that short-rotation coppicing can become an important part of the fuel supply. It provided valuable information on ways to improve fuel-stock yield and harvesting technology, and also control related pests and diseases. The DTI will continue to support industry through its New and Renewable Energy Programme to realise the potential of energy from biomass, said Wilson.
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The government considers bioenergy鈥檚 contribution an important part of meeting Britain鈥檚 target of supplying 10 per cent of the country鈥檚 electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The Energy White Paper, to be published soon, is expected to set out the government鈥檚 long-term strategy on renewables, including energy recovered from biomass, said the minister.
I am delighted that there is true political imperative here. For the government to have proclaimed so much about 鈥渁lternative energy鈥�, it would be humiliating for it to fail biomass in general, and the Eggborough Plant in particular.
BATS had a bad press last year. Public outcry followed the discovery in the summer that rabies may be endemic in some British bat species. And David McRae, a bat conservationist, died after contracting a rabies-like virus from a bite (快猫短视频, 30 November 2002, p 3). Experts were quick to trumpet the fact that the risk of catching rabies in Britain this way is very low. But such a simple statement wasn鈥檛 enough to mollify the public. Although bats are protected under British law, some householders are demanding the right to evict the creatures from their properties.
Experts said the bat involved in McRae鈥檚 death was probably a strain of European bat notorious for carrying the European bat lyssavirus (EBL) 鈥� a rabies-related virus. The disease is endemic in many bat species in mainland Europe and North America, so perhaps Britain could learn from their experiences. Paul Racey of the University of Aberdeen and a leading bat expert, tells me that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL), and the countrywide laboratory agencies are jointly drawing up plans for a nationwide survey of bat colonies. One objective will be to determine the level of EBL infection. Another will be to spread some of the experience gained overseas.
I believe bats have a place in civilised societies, for they do all sorts of good, not least by feeding on a wide range of insect pests. Anyone with relevant suggestions for the survey should contact the CVL at Weybridge, Surrey.
