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Significant contribution of energy crops to heat and electricity needs in Great Britain to 2050

Significant contribution of energy crops to heat and electricity needs in Great Britain to 2050
Significant contribution of energy crops to heat and electricity needs in Great Britain to 2050
The paper estimates the potential contribution of Miscanthus × giganteus(Miscanthus) and short rotation coppice (SRC; in Great Britain often willow and poplar species, e.g. Salix. viminalis L. x S. viminalis var Joruun) to the heat and electricity needs in Great Britain to 2050 under climate change, using a model system which is composed of a partial equilibrium model and two process based terrestrial biogeochemistry models. If the whole available area of land suitable for Miscanthus and SRC of 8 Mha is considered, results show that the contribution of Miscanthus and SRC to the heat and electricity supply would be significant. Under the projected climate and an imposed energy policy to 2050, the potential contribution would range from 139, 291 GWh to 230, 605 GWh for heat and from 112, 481 GWh to 127, 868 GWh for electricity by 2050. This would provide over 60 % of total heat and electricity needs in Great Britain. Using realistic implementation scenarios on just 0.4 Mha of land, Miscanthus and SRC could still contribute more than 5 % of heat and electricity needs in Great Britain. We conclude that Miscanthus and SRC have the potential to form part of a diverse renewable energy portfolio for Great Britain. In addition to climate and energy policy, the contribution of Miscanthus and SRC to heat and electricity will be impacted by the efficiency of combined heat and power (CHP) and alternative energy crops, and the area of land eventually used for dedicated bioenergy crops.
1939-1234
1-8
Wang, Shifeng
8b6d5a58-443e-4fda-b9d1-2c0d44c66c7f
Wang, Sicong
9f08ac11-b74b-48a5-8d0e-64b7facdb018
Lovett, Andrew
b75a7fb5-4d52-43c7-88c9-5114df60198b
Zhong, Jun
b89f7f56-22e0-4da2-8d0e-1790e28c23c2
Taylor, Gail
Leduc, Sylvain
0000c393-f975-4d3d-903d-f7aef5fdb05d
Firth, Steven
23130861-b2b2-45df-8052-aa27c1b0a463
Smith, Pete
a8a5c7c1-faf6-4b75-b125-ec8c73d104a2
Wang, Shifeng
8b6d5a58-443e-4fda-b9d1-2c0d44c66c7f
Wang, Sicong
9f08ac11-b74b-48a5-8d0e-64b7facdb018
Lovett, Andrew
b75a7fb5-4d52-43c7-88c9-5114df60198b
Zhong, Jun
b89f7f56-22e0-4da2-8d0e-1790e28c23c2
Taylor, Gail
Leduc, Sylvain
0000c393-f975-4d3d-903d-f7aef5fdb05d
Firth, Steven
23130861-b2b2-45df-8052-aa27c1b0a463
Smith, Pete
a8a5c7c1-faf6-4b75-b125-ec8c73d104a2

Wang, Shifeng, Wang, Sicong, Lovett, Andrew, Zhong, Jun, Taylor, Gail, Leduc, Sylvain, Firth, Steven and Smith, Pete (2014) Significant contribution of energy crops to heat and electricity needs in Great Britain to 2050. BioEnergy Research, 1-8. (doi:10.1007/s12155-014-9422-z).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The paper estimates the potential contribution of Miscanthus × giganteus(Miscanthus) and short rotation coppice (SRC; in Great Britain often willow and poplar species, e.g. Salix. viminalis L. x S. viminalis var Joruun) to the heat and electricity needs in Great Britain to 2050 under climate change, using a model system which is composed of a partial equilibrium model and two process based terrestrial biogeochemistry models. If the whole available area of land suitable for Miscanthus and SRC of 8 Mha is considered, results show that the contribution of Miscanthus and SRC to the heat and electricity supply would be significant. Under the projected climate and an imposed energy policy to 2050, the potential contribution would range from 139, 291 GWh to 230, 605 GWh for heat and from 112, 481 GWh to 127, 868 GWh for electricity by 2050. This would provide over 60 % of total heat and electricity needs in Great Britain. Using realistic implementation scenarios on just 0.4 Mha of land, Miscanthus and SRC could still contribute more than 5 % of heat and electricity needs in Great Britain. We conclude that Miscanthus and SRC have the potential to form part of a diverse renewable energy portfolio for Great Britain. In addition to climate and energy policy, the contribution of Miscanthus and SRC to heat and electricity will be impacted by the efficiency of combined heat and power (CHP) and alternative energy crops, and the area of land eventually used for dedicated bioenergy crops.

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More information

Published date: February 2014
Organisations: Centre for Biological Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 363280
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/363280
ISSN: 1939-1234
PURE UUID: b3761af2-9938-4a6b-a623-b42dbe7e50d2

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Date deposited: 24 Mar 2014 11:51
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 16:21

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Contributors

Author: Shifeng Wang
Author: Sicong Wang
Author: Andrew Lovett
Author: Jun Zhong
Author: Gail Taylor
Author: Sylvain Leduc
Author: Steven Firth
Author: Pete Smith

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