AHS Energy

Copenhagen, elections, economic recovery...

Here in East Sussex we have been basking in sub-zero temperatures for over a week now.  Not only is it good news for those who see the cold as the best way of killing off nasty bugs, but it also provides a small fillip to the biomass woodfuel industry.  Global warming indeed!

So what's news and what can we look forward to in the year to come?  Well for one thing there continues to be talk, talk and more talk.  And slowly, slowly we are seeing a gradual increase in the take-up of renewable energy.  2010 is likely to follow a very similar pattern, reined in by the appalling microclimate that is the British economy.  Times are definitely going to be tough, and the worry is that the incentive and finance for investment in renewables just won't be there to really put a dent in the stats.  Time for less talk and more action.

The general disillusion with politics and politicians is often put down to the petty squabbling, posturing and self-interest of our decision-makers.  Copenhagen was a chance for the world to gather and really address a crisis of immense proportions, putting aside short-sighted political expediency.  Cynics would say that all we got was more squabbling, more self-interest and no conclusion.  This is no way to connect with real people making daily decisions that could improve or damage the future well-being of the planet.  Our response is just to switch off - brains, not lights!

Perhaps though there is something positive to be taken from Copenhagen after all.  Over 190 different countries were represented at the talks and we feel that this shows at last a real recognition that collective action needs to be taken, and fast.  Ultimately all the talk will lead to some action.  You just wish it could happen faster.

It's the same here at home.  We have been promised for some time a Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.  It should be good news - heat makes up around 47% of the UK energy burden.  But guess what?  The details of the scheme have been delayed.  What kind of a way is this for business to make plans to improve energy use in buildings?  The result:  no solar, no wind, no biomass.  Nothing. 

In years to come however, historians won't remember these delays.  They will remember the economic slough and they will recall the General Election of 2010.  On the environmental front, all the signs are that there won't be significant changes in policy should the Conservatives be elected.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that traditionally the UK grinds to a halt in the run-up to a General Election.  Let's just hope that this doesn't happen to any great degree.  It's not as if we haven't all got enough to be getting on with.

Happy Christmas and here's to a much improved 2010.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

AHS Energy wishes everyone a very happy Christmas, and raises a glass to 2010. 

Edward Wilkinson is presenting at Smart Energy '09

AHS Energy Head of Marketing, Ed Wilkinson, is to present at the forthcoming Smart Energy show next week at Wembley Stadium.

He will be discussing a variety of case studies, both good and bad, with an audience made up of fellow biomass professionals, representatives from the public and private sector, and industry consultants.

Ed would like it to be known that this will not be the first time he has "played Wembley" - having had an inglorious 20 minutes on the hallowed turf in 1993 in a Wembley staff footballl match - but he hopes his efforts this time are slightly more constructive.

Richard Benyon, MP for Newbury, visits AHS Energy at Padworth

Even if wood as a fuel has been used since time immemorial, the idea of producing more than 50,000 tonnes a year of high quality biomass wood chip on one site alone takes some getting used to.  And we have found that there is enormous benefit to be gained by actually seeing the AHS Energy production site at Padworth in operation.

We are really keen to encourage firms and individuals to see what we are doing, so recently we decided to invite the local MP, Richard Benyon - he is also a shadow DEFRA minister - to come and take a look for himself.

It was quite obvious that Richard was already extremely well-informed about the potential for biomass as a renewable and sustainable source of fuel.  In fact he mentioned that he had looked into installing a boiler himself.  And because he had worked earlier in his career as a land agent, he was able to estimate how many tonnes of wood were being stored in the yard. 

Nick Guest felt that Richard was impressed by the scale and efficiency of the site.  With a single chipper able to produce such large quantities, it does seem peculiar that so much money has been invested over the years on small chippers that are only required to work for a very small proportion of the time.

Richard had a close look at the chipper in action and was bowled over by its immense power and speed.  He then saw the finished product after the screening and grading process.

One of the factors that has inhibited some organisations from pursuing biomass renewable fuel has been the perception that the supply chain is not sufficiently in place yet to give confidence.  Visits like this to Padworth soon put minds at rest.   

Shropshire biomass CHP plant gets the go-ahead

It has taken some time, but the plans for a 2.5MW Combined Heat & Power Plant in Bishop's Castle in Shropshire have finally been given the thumbs-up by planners, after an Official Appeal

The plant, to be run using biomass renewable wood fuel, will generate clean, green energy for around 2,500 homes in the area and save annually 7,000 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.  Strong local opposition to the plans had brought long delays.

In a lengthy report the Planning Inspector addressed each of the objections in turn, and in his summing-up he explained, "In my judgement, the benefits of the proposal to carbon mitigation would be more than sufficient to outweigh any resultant harm to the local environment. I am satisfied that the proposed technology is viable and that the environmental, economic and social impact of the proposal could be addressed."

Bishop's Castle Biomass Power Project website 

AHS Energy relaunches its website

AHS Energy has launched a new version of its website.

As part of the AHS Ltd corporate rebranding, the website has been designed to be easier to use and includes more detailed product information, a selection of videos and news, and links to the AHS Energy brochure. 

This development will be followed soon by the relaunch of www.ahs-ltd.co.uk, AHS's dedicated soft landscape and playground materials website, together with a new brochure.

For more information please contact us at info@ahs-ltd.co.uk

Paul Davenport is speaking at EBEC - 9th October 2009

AHS's Commercial Director, Paul Davenport, will be presenting at EBEC (European Bioenergy Expo & Conference) on Friday 9th October at 11.30am.

His presentation is entitled "Woodchip - managing the supply chain".

If you should bump into Paul while you are there, do say hello.

FSC – we got it!

We are all thrilled here at the news that AHS has finally achieved very prestigious  Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

 

It’s the result of lots of hard work, and it shows our commitment to meeting the highest possible social and environmental standards.  Have a look at our website for more details – www.ahsenergy.co.uk/news

 

Now we're also heading for ISO14001 - it takes a while but we are hoping to have achieved this by next Spring.

 

The Vocal Minority?

Posted by Edward Wilkinson

I went to a village meeting on Monday night.  There’s a minor row going on about the building of five new affordable homes in the middle of the idyllic village where I live. 

It seems that the majority of the village can see that there is an inevitable push for such schemes throughout the country, and whilst they would prefer not to have them built “in their backyard”, they have decided to give the plan their consent.  They could look beyond the immediate impact and see the long term benefit of the scheme for generations to come.

At the same time there is a very vociferous, not to say aggressive, minority group who object strongly.  And after the meeting last night it was hard not to conclude that, once their objections had been dealt with one by one, they were utterly immoveable:  they just weren’t prepared to budge an inch, except to say that they didn’t object if the site were moved to the outskirts of the village.  Guess what!  They are the ones living closest to the proposed site.

 

Is it really the same here in Northiam?  Perhaps.

 

The latest news is that a group campaigning against AHS’s plans for a biomass power plant have got together and created a website.  It doesn’t take long to go through it, and frankly it doesn’t say a great deal.  It certainly doesn’t tell the reader on what grounds the campaigners are objecting to the site, nor who the campaigners are.

 

There is no acknowledgement by the campaigners that the powers-that-be – Environment Agency, Highways Agency, District Council etc etc – will be responsible for regulating the safe and clean operation of such a site.

 

There’s no reference to the fact that Europeans have been building plants like this for years, slap bang in the middle of towns and villages.

 

Above all there is no recognition that this power plant is going to create green energy for around 6,000 homes in East Sussex.

 

If the objections remain the same now as when they started arriving at the Planning Office, we would love to sit down and go through them item by item.  If they are different, we haven’t heard them yet.

 

We have to assume that this Taskforce isn’t immovable, but are they thinking about the benefits of green energy for the generations who will be living in Northiam long after they have gone?

We would love to find out, and our door as ever remains open to them.

 

Have we learned nothing?

Posted by Edward Wilkinson

 

BBC 10’clock news, Thursday – 3 stories back to back.

 

First, the failure today of the G8 to come to an agreement with emerging nations about reducing future carbon emissions.  Countries like China, India and Brazil said they were unable to match the targets of the existing super-economies because it might hinder their own growth.

 

Next a report from Ghana, where only a fifth of its rainforest is left standing after 50 years of deforestation.  Innovative plans for the replanting of 24 million indigenous trees were shown, but there was criticism of the project, as some commentators felt it unfair for the West to impose the burden of ecological concern on the Third World.

 

And finally, can you believe it, a piece about the efforts of Jaguar – a firm which has been losing £1million a day for the last 10 months - to revive the brand by launching a new model.

 

Apparently some eminent academics place blame for the seemingly unbreakable distrust between the Islamic world and the West on the teaching of history.  In this country we are happy to touch on something of the Roman presence in Britain, a dash of Anglo-Saxon times, a sprinkling of the Civil War, say, and a veritable wallowing in Victorian and early twentieth-Century “glory”, up to the Second World War.  The Middle East takes, let us say, a different approach entirely.  What is important is that there is a fundamental difference of outlook on the teaching of history in the respective regions. At best it does nothing to strengthen ties, at worst it serves to reinforce the feelings of distrust between the two sides for generations to come.

 

And despite this, we are potentially seeing the same thing happening in the environmental arena.  If you were the Brazilian president, why would you take it on the chin when Barack Obama told you to cut your emissions, when the US has single-handedly made the largest contribution to the crisis?  And why would a Ghanaian forester listen to Gordon Brown for even a second, if he knew that GB was responsible for giving the green (apologies!) light to a new, mainly coal-fired, power station that on its own would pump out 8,000,000 tonnes of carbon a year?

 

But all will be well, of course, because if he chops down enough trees, the forester might be able to afford a brand new Jaguar car.