In view of a new tax soon to be introduced now is the time to change over to biomass heating

This month the Gate2biotech.com portal devotes itself to the theme of using biomass for heating and producing energy. In connection with the announced increase in the price of fossil fuels, in particular electricity and gas, and with regard to the necessity of introducing a so-called “carbon tax“ from 1st January 2008, which the Czech Republic has promised the EU, there is also a growing advantage for the use of alternative sources of energy by households. #img_299#.<> There is great potential in developing the use of biomasss for heating and hot water. The Gate2biotech portal maps out the possibilities of making use of suport for households within the framework of the state support programme announced by the Ministry of the Environment. Through this programme households can obtain grants of up to 50% of the total cost of installing a biomass boiler. Because of this, according to the Czech Association for Biomass, energy from biomass from renewable sources has the highest potential for development and accounts for the highest share of energy from renewable sources. Every year the Ministry of the Environment announces a state programme to support energy saving and the use of renewable sources of energy. Within the framework of this programme households can obtain grants to support investment projects in the use of renewable sources of energy and, besides other things, for equipment using biomass for heating and hot water. #img_298#.<> The drawback is that there is only a limited amount of money available to fund these grants, which is bad luck for those applying after it has all been allocated. We can assume though, that in meeting the aforementioned obligations towards the EU, support for similar programmes will intensify. For example, so far this year all applications were successful and naturally therefore, on 15th September 2006, the Minister for the Environment renewed acceptance of applications to selected national programmes. The opportunity of obtaining grants is of reatest interest to house owners, where installing a biomass boiler is quite easy. Certainly one obstacle for some homeowners is that they have to fund the whole project from personal resources or a loan and then claim back up to 50% of the total investment costs in the form of a grant from the national programme. On the positive side, you can apply up to one year after installation, as opposed to the previous nine month limit. Even so, applicants have no guarantee that their grant application will be approved. Government workers themselves unofficially reccommend submitting grant applications at the beginning of the year, when they have the greatest chance of success. However, even without the grant, when we consider the advantages of such equipment, changing over to a biomass boiler is a good investment for the future, even from the economic point of view. #img_300#.<> The conditions for submitting an applicatiion are not in themselves drastic. The most important is to install equipment that carries the relevant certification, submit the supplier’s contract and invoice, relevant information about the work carried out and, where possible, a report of the surveyor’s final inspection. Then finally, there’s an expert’s opinion and, in some cases, an energy audit. In all cases it is best to first discuss applications with the relevant office at the Ministry of the Environment responsible for such programmes. For example, in 2005 seventy-four such projects were supported, receiving 2, 404, 000 crowns on a total investment cost of 6, 314, 000 crowns. At the present time there is also a sufficiently wide range of products and suppliers of such equipment on the market and there are sure to be even more in the future. You can choose from a variety of boilers for different kinds of biomass. Certainly more convenient, and sometimes even necessary, is installation of an automatic dispenser, particularly when using pelleted or loose kinds of biomass. “ It’s also good to consider the possibilities of using a combination of different kinds of biomass eg. burning straw and wood. It’s also necessary to consider the disadvantages, in particular the large volume of unpressed forms of biomass which gives rise to problems with arranging storage and delivery and sometimes due to its pungent aroma!” says Ing. Zdeněk Picka, specialist in burning biomass. #img_303#.<> Currently the price of fossil fuels is relatively low and so biomass is not so competitive. On the other hand agricultural and food production produces large amounts of waste which can be used in biomass boilers. Already you can see installations, for example on private farms, which, thanks to biofuel burners, are quite self-sufficient. You can, of course, also consider how you will obtain a certain type of biomass. If for example you are near to a sawmill which sends its production waste to the dump it is no great problem to persuade them to let you have these wood offcuts to take away. Because of impending taxes it is advantageous to set up biomass heating. Biomass as a fuel for heating and hot water without doubt has the most potential and is the fastest developing area in alternative sources of energy with regard to protection of the environment, renewability and, looking to the future, even from an economic point of view. In recent years it has gone from being a curiosity to being an attractive alternative source of energy for a wide spectrum of users. According to the Czech Association for Biomass energy from biomass from renewable sources has the greatest potential for development and accounts for the greatest share of renewable energy. Biomass is taken to mean all organic matter arising from photosynthesis or of animal origin. In the field of energy production this refers only to plant biomass used for energetic purposes as a source of renewable energy. And it is renewable sources of energy that are playing an increasingly important role in the energy policies of developed countries and particularly in the EU. A number of reasons for this are immediately apparent, from reducing consumption of non-renewable sources and with it reducing emmisions of greenhouse gases in accordance with the Kyoto Agreement*, to the strategic goal of energy self-sufficiency. The Czech Republic is committed to increasing the proportion of its energy derived from renewable sources. Up until 2010 this should reach 12.5% of total energy production and by 2020 it should account for 20%. The current share of energy from renewable sources In the Czech republic stands at roughly 2.5%. *The Kyoto Agreement is a promise by a number of countries around the world to reduce carbon dioxide emmissions which are believed to cause global warming. Using alternative sources of energy, which at the present time are mostly dearer, could, in a year’s time, prove to be 25% cheaper. The Czech Republic is committed to introducing a so-called “carbon tax“ which would make use of non-renewable sources less advantageous, with th aim of developing and supporting renewable sources. This tax has already been in operation in most EU states since 1st January 2006. The Czech Republic on joining the EU negotiated a transition period so the tax should be introduced here on 1st January 2008. What exactly this will mean for end users remains to be seen, but generally it will mean an increase in the price of energy from non-renewable sources, which at the moment predominate. This is certainly for all housholds, and especially for industry, very unpleasant news. An interim committee set up to deal with this tax was surprisingly set up in October 2006 and comes into operataion from the end of this year. In other words it has just one year in which to deal with this problem, which has certain and necessary legislative implications. The Czech Republic is also trying to support the use of renewable sources for households and physical entities. Every year the Ministry for the Environment announces a state programme to support energy conservation and the use of renewable sources. Within the framework of this programme households can obtain grants to support investment projects for the use of renewable sources and, amongst other things, installing biomass burners for heating and hot water. A similar situation applies to various agricultural cooperatives and forestry companies. We can expect that with the development of biomass boilers there will be a gradually increasing awareness of the real value of material that is currently only seen as waste. If you are considering aquiring a biomass burner it is certainly better from an ecological point of view, in that with correct burning there will be a minimal amount of emmisions. According to information from the Czech Association for Biomass, fuels based on biomass contain hardly any sulphur and emmissions of sulphur dioxide are not significant. Levels of other harmful substances are significantly lower than with fossil fuels. In addition the ash from biomass, in most cases, can be used as a valuable fertiliser with an appreciable content of calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosporous. Source: * Biomasa pro vytápění v obcích i městech, CZ Biom České sdružení pro biomasu

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