Dunster Biomass Heating Scotland

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Dunster Biomass Heating Scotland's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Dunster Biomass Heating Scotland is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.dunster.biz

1DUNSTER BIOMASS HEATING SCOTLAND |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

Manager Alasdair Peppe

Energy centre for a wood

chip fuelled rural district

heating network; making

best use of local resources

In 2014, two established biomass boiler installation companies

merged their Scottish interests to form Dunster Biomass

Heating (Scotland) Ltd. This was a boom time as the

government’s Renewable Heat Incentive was driving a rapid

expansion of the sector. Manager Alasdair Peppe noted that,

although there were numerous companies operating in the

field, very few in Scotland were striving for the level of efficiency

and technical innovation that has now become the standard.

Alasdair tells

The Parliamentary Review

more.

Our starting point was to offer the highest-quality and the best value-for-money

installations in the sector. Initially, our biggest challenge was keeping up with

demand and avoiding the temptation to expand too fast. We installed numerous

sophisticated systems ranging from individual new-build houses to rural district

heating networks and industrial heating systems. It would have been easy to take

on additional employees or subcontractors but that would have diluted the core

expertise of the team and therefore the quality of our work. Also, we were well

aware that this was a time-limited market. The RHI was specifically designed to

offer high rewards to early adopters of low-carbon heating technology and then

to reduce the rewards as the industry developed. We could tell that a crash was

coming and were determined to be lean and efficient enough to cope when it did.

When the crash came in late 2016 and early 2017, it was harder and faster than

most in the industry had anticipated. The feedback mechanism built into the RHI

was flawed; it took too long to act and then continued to act long after installation

rates had dropped below sustainable levels. It also coincided with an unexpected

FACTS ABOUT

DUNSTER BIOMASS HEATING

SCOTLAND

»Manager: Alasdair Peppe

»Founded in 2014

»Located in Forres, Morayshire

»Services: Designing, installing

and maintaining biomass

heating systems

»No. of employees: 4 full time,

4 part time

»No. of sites maintained:

Approx 150

»www.dunster.biz

Dunster Biomass

Heating Scotland

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2| DUNSTER BIOMASS HEATING SCOTLAND

drop in the oil price thus reducing

one of the main non-subsidy drivers

for people to switch to biomass

heating. Many installation companies

either went bust or withdrew from

themarket.

Fortunately, because we had resisted

the temptation to expand and had

concentrated on building a base

of maintenance contracts and

loyal clients, we have been able to

weather the storm to date, but it is

a very different market in which we

now operate. Instead of being an

installation company which does a bit

of maintenance, we are a maintenance

company that does an occasional

installation. We have been able to

retain our core competence and have

continued to innovate technically

so we believe we are well placed

to take advantage of any upturn in

theindustry.

Pushing for policy change

Our future is inextricably bound

up in government environmental

policy. Around 30 per cent of all UK

carbon emissions result from space

heating. In order to hit their legally

binding targets, it is essential that

the government implements a policy

which incentivises a move away from

high-carbon forms of heating. We

passionately believe that a key part of

this is using biomass, generally wood,

as a fuel to heat buildings. Burning

wood from well managed forests is

close to carbon neutral; as the forests

grow, they absorb carbon. When

the trees reach maturity, they are cut

down, and the carbon released into

the atmosphere when they are burnt is

re-absorbed by the next generation of

trees growing in their place.

The rising demand for wood fuel over

the past ten years has brought huge

areas of UK forestry back into active

management after generations of

under-management – think of thick,

dark, crowded conifer plantations

which are almost environmental

deserts. When in active management,

they are thinned two or three times

prior to the final felling resulting in

much improved biodiversity and,

paradoxically, a greater uptake of

carbon because the remaining trees

grow bigger. Ancillary benefits include

many high-quality rural jobs – it is all

good news.

Boiler fuelled by

residue from timber

yard provides heat for

industrial processes as

well as office and retail

space

Instead of

being an

installation

company that

does a bit of

maintenance,

we are

maintenance

company that

does an

occasional

installation

“

3DUNSTER BIOMASS HEATING SCOTLAND |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

The RHI has resulted in numerous heat

users switching from fossil fuels to

low-carbon biomass. Unfortunately,

the incentive rates have now fallen so

far that new deployment has almost

ceased and the scheme is to end in

2021. No replacement scheme has yet

been proposed and it seems unlikely

that the obvious path, which would

be to learn from its shortcomings and

implement a revised scheme, is going

to be followed. Despite warnings from

environmentalists across the world that

everyone needs to act now, not rely

on a silver bullet in 30 years’ time, the

policy dreamers in Whitehall seem to

have the upper hand. Their preferred

route is to generate heat from biogas

and hydrogen for those buildings on

the gas grid and green electricity for

those off it. They wish to reserve the

biomass to be burnt in large power

stations where the, as yet unproven,

technology of carbon capture and

storage can remove the carbon

dioxide emissions thus creating carbon

negative electricity generation.

Since none of the technology for this is

currently available, this is precisely the

approach that environmentalists are

warning against. Through membership

of the board of the Wood Heat

Association, I am actively involved

in trying to get this point across and

to influence government policy. We

can reduce carbon dioxide emissions

from heating, and we can do it with

technology which is available now and

is affordable. Biomass heating is not

the answer for all buildings, but it can

address a significant proportion of the

problem and if one of the silver bullets

comes good in 30 years, then it can

be replaced within the normal cycle of

renewal without any great cost.

Creating a sustainable future

In the meantime, I find it difficult to

predict where we will be in five years’

time. We have a loyal client base

and an enviable reputation for the

quality of our work and service, so, at

worst, we will remain a maintenance

company that is capable of providing

design and installation services to those

environmentally responsible companies

and individuals who wish to switch to

biomass heating.

My wish is that government policy

recognises that biomass heating is

a fundamentally good thing and it

provides an incentive to persuade

people to move away from high-

carbon dioxide forms of heating. This

is not about paying people to generate

heat; it is compensating them for the

additional costs they are incurring

in order to be environmentally

responsible. Currently, emitting carbon

dioxide costs the country, but that cost

is not passed on to the emitter. Unless

we tax carbon dioxide emissions, and

you only have to look at the chaos

caused by proposals to do that in

France to see that it is unlikely to be

politically acceptable, then we should

incentivise those who move away

from emitting carbon dioxide. Doing

nothing is not an option.

Emitting

carbon dioxide

costs the

country but

not the

emitter... we

should

incentivise

those who

move away

from emitting

carbon

dioxide. Doing

nothing is not

an option

“

Converted single garage

housing the boiler and

pellet store for five

dwellings; low-cost, low-

carbon heat

www.dunster.biz

This article was sponsored by Dunster Biomass Heating Scotland. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Michael Gove.

Rt Hon Michael Gove's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Michael Gove

This year's Parliamentary Review comes at a momentous time for parliament, as we collectively determine the destiny of the United Kingdom.

On October 31, the UK will leave the European Union. The successful implementation of this process is this government's number-one priority.

Three years after a historic referendum vote, we will deliver on the decisive mandate from the British people. Trust in our democracy depends on it. Until that final hour, we will work determinedly and diligently to negotiate a deal, one that abolishes the backstop and upholds the warm and close relationship we share with our friends, allies and neighbours in the EU. But in the event that the EU refuses to meet us at the table, we must be prepared to leave without a deal.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, it is my job to lead on this government's approach, should that scenario happen. Preparing for Brexit is my department's driving mission. But while I am leading this turbocharged effort, the whole of government is committed to this endeavour.

Ministers across Whitehall are working together to ensure that every possibility is considered, every plan is scrutinised and every provision is made. A daily drumbeat of meetings means that we are holding departments accountable, so that preparations are completed on time.

The chancellor has confirmed that all necessary funding will be made available. And we have mobilised thecivil service, assigning 15,000 of our most talented civil servants to manage our exit from the EU.

We will make sure that on November 1, there is as little disruption to national life as possible. Our trade relationships will continue to thrive, thanks to agreements with countries around the world worth £70 billion. Our country will remain secure, thanks to nearly 1,000 new officers posted at our borders. And the 3.2 million EU nationals now living and working among us can remain confident, with absolute certainty, of their right to remain in the UK.

Above all, our goal is to be transparent. Soon, we will launch a public information campaign so that citizens, communities and businesses are ready and reassured about what will happen in the event of “no deal”.

In my first few weeks in this role, I have travelled to ports and tarmacs, borders and bridges, all across the UK –from the seaside of Dover to the rolling green hills of County Armagh. I have heard from business owners and border officials, farmers and hauliers. They are ready to put an end to uncertainty. And they are ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.

Our departure from the EU will be a once in a lifetime chance to chart a new course for the United Kingdom. Preparing for that new course will be a herculean effort. But this country has made astounding efforts before. We can do it again.

Rt Hon Michael Gove
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster