High-priced coal is driving the United Kingdom to double its electricity generation from biomass in the next two years.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance has estimated it now costs 40.25 euros to produce one megawatt of electricity from coal in the U.K., compared to 39.35 euros from biomass. Power companies are shifting away from coal-fired power as profits diminish. Also, the pledges by British Prime Minister David Cameron to increase the development of the country's renewable energy sector have inspired enhanced investment in biomass production.
Analysts expect biomass-based electricity to double to 5,800 megawatts by 2014. This is enough energy to power six million homes.
Melanie Wedgebury, spokeswoman for Drax Group Plc (London: DRX.L) -- the owner of Western Europe's largest coal-fired power plant -- says making to switch from coal to biomass is a win for everyone: "It would be a double-win. It will remove coal from the energy mix and replace it with significant, reliable, cost-effective and dispatachable renewable power."
Read the full story at Bloomberg: Coal's Two-Year High Coaxes U.K. Utilities to Burn Wood
Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has researched and reported on the issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change for over two years. He has provided research to the New York Times and The Economist, as well as being published on different media outlets including, The Energy Collective.
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