Abstract
Abstract
This study explores the scope for increasing the contribution of woody biomass for private space and water heating in the North East Scotland, which corresponds to the administrative districts of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray. It assesses the potential benefits in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction of a partial shift from non-renewable heat sources to wood energy. Woody biomass is an interesting case to study because it is a source of renewable energy that directly depends on the rural land use sector. At the same time woody biomass can play an important role in fuel poverty reduction. North East Scotland has good potential for woody biomass production but the trade-off between food security and energy production has to be taken into account if more woodland creation is sought. Forests occupy 19% of the land area, and a number of towns and villages are close to extensive forested areas. North East Scotland administrative districts have supported the development of wood energy through the development of woodfuel-based public service heating and institutional structure is broadly conducive. Fuel poverty and greenhouse gas emissions from space and water heating could be drastically reduced through the wide adoption of heating systems in the region. However, large up-front capital costs, delays in establishing support systems, and the nature of support offered to contribute to the likely failure to deliver policy targets such as for reduced fuel poverty and CO2 emissions reduction.
This study explores the scope for increasing the contribution of woody biomass for private space and water heating in the North East Scotland, which corresponds to the administrative districts of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray. It assesses the potential benefits in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction of a partial shift from non-renewable heat sources to wood energy. Woody biomass is an interesting case to study because it is a source of renewable energy that directly depends on the rural land use sector. At the same time woody biomass can play an important role in fuel poverty reduction. North East Scotland has good potential for woody biomass production but the trade-off between food security and energy production has to be taken into account if more woodland creation is sought. Forests occupy 19% of the land area, and a number of towns and villages are close to extensive forested areas. North East Scotland administrative districts have supported the development of wood energy through the development of woodfuel-based public service heating and institutional structure is broadly conducive. Fuel poverty and greenhouse gas emissions from space and water heating could be drastically reduced through the wide adoption of heating systems in the region. However, large up-front capital costs, delays in establishing support systems, and the nature of support offered to contribute to the likely failure to deliver policy targets such as for reduced fuel poverty and CO2 emissions reduction.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 344-353 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Renewable Energy |
| Volume | 72 |
| Early online date | 8 Aug 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2014 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsWe thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and Dr. Iain Brown for the proof-reading and suggestions on the revised version.
Keywords
- woodfuel
- space and water heating
- fuel poverty
- CO2 emissions
- North East Scotland
Access to Document
- Feliciano-et-al.2014.Manuscript
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Renewable Energy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Renewable Energy, VOL 72 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2014.07.039 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/