Combined Heat and Power and Air Quality - Guidance for Local Authorities

1. Combined Heat and Power and Air Quality - Guidance for Local Authorities Ed Dearnley Policy Officer

2. Today’s Presentation • Background • What is CHP? • Emissions from CHP systems • Guidance and assessment

3. Background • Government policies are now strongly driving the rollout of low carbon energy • Low carbon energy based on combustion technologies may have air quality impacts • Robust regulatory frameworks and good quality guidance is necessary to ensure these technologies can be rolled out with minimal air quality impacts

4. Biomass and Air Quality • Biomass heat was one of the first conflict points between air quality and climate targets • London Councils report in late 2007 concluded that a large increase in biomass deployment could have a significant effect on PM10 concentrations • Result – a reported planning ‘freeze’

5. EPUK Guidance • EPUK Guidance released in 2009 provided information and tools to assist local authorities • Well received by local authorities and industry • Scottish version followed in 2010

6. Air Quality and Climate • New guidance released earlier this year explored how local authorities can align climate and air quality policy • Still lots of work to do on integrated policy at both national and local level

7. What is Combined Heat and Power? • CHP is simply the co-provision of heat and electricity from the same piece of plant • There are considerable losses involved in the supply of mains electricity, mainly through waste heat from power stations • CHP generates electricity on site and uses the waste heat to provide space heating and hot water, boosting efficiency

8. Energy Flow – CHP vs conventional Graphic courtesy of the Carbon Trust

9. Why Worry About CHP • CHP is a mature, cost effective, low carbon technology • There are financial incentives to install CHP and it is increasingly common to install it as part of new development • Smaller (<20 MW) CHP is largely unregulated • Emissions may be higher than conventional heat and power

10. CHP Technologies • Important to note that CHP is a service, not a technology (in the same way that ‘heating’ is a service whilst a ‘gas boiler’ is a technology) • CHP covers a wide range of technologies and fuels, each with differing emissions performance • From an air quality perspective we’re interested in the ‘prime mover’ and the fuel it runs upon

11. Common CHP ‘Prime Movers’ Internal combustion engines Gas turbines Boilers with steam turbines

12. Common CHP Fuels Natural gas and biogas Oil and bio-liquids Coal and biomass

13. CHP Size Scales • ‘Micro’ (up to 5 kWe) – suitable for a single building (relatively new technology) • Small scale (below 2 MWe) – suitable for a block of flats or an office building • Large scale (above 2 MWe) – suitable for providing heat and power for a whole community, town or city

14. Emissions from CHP • NOx is the main pollutant emission from CHP systems; some technology and fuel combinations will also emit PM10 and/ or SO2 • CHP brings power station emissions ‘into town’. Total emissions from heat and power supply may fall, but local emissions from the CHP plant may be higher than conventional heat and power • This point is frequently missed in CHP guidance!

15. Technologies, fuels and NOx performance Indicative guide only!

16. Technologies, fuels and PM10 performance Indicative guide only!

17. Forthcoming EPUK Guidance • The London Borough of Camden have commissioned EPUK to produce air quality and CHP guidance, supported by a Defra Air Quality Grant • Similar format to the EPUK biomass and air quality guidance • Consultation draft should be released over the summer

18. Final Guidance – Content • Main local authority document : • Background, including policy context • Technologies, fuels, standards and certification • Approvals and consents (i.e. regulation and planning approval) • Assessing and mitigating potential impacts • Lots of links to supplementary information

19. Final Guidance – Content • Tools: • CHP air quality assessment procedure • Screening assessment tool • Boiler information request template • Installed boiler details log • Companion’ document to ‘Planning for Air Quality’

20. Assessing and Mitigating Potential Impacts • The guidance will advocate a risk based approach to assessment based on the CHP system and its location: • Geography (e.g. is it in or near an AQMA) • What are the technology and fuel alternatives (i.e. would these have better or worse emissions) • Likely emissions performance of the CHP system

21. Assessing and Mitigating Potential Impacts • The key to making a good assessment is obtaining information about the proposed CHP system as early as possible, this may be difficult • The amount of information requested should be proportional to the risk to air quality presented • Guidance is provided on what information might be needed - and information request template

22. Assessing and Mitigating Potential Impacts • Flow charts will be provided for planning and Clean Air Act (where needed) assessments, with links to the text

23. Screening and Mitigation Options • A screening assessment tool will be provided for the most common technology/ fuel combinations • Mitigation options will be discussed (to be used if air quality impacts are significant): • Low cost (combustion management, site design) • Medium cost • High cost (abatement equipment, etc)

24. Conclusions • CHP will become a more common feature of planning applications – lots of incentives for its use • CHP introduces many new technology and fuel combinations – these may be new to local authorities and air quality assessment is therefore a greater challenge

25. Conclusions • CHP moves emissions from power stations to local sources. Local emissions may rise as total emissions fall • EPUK guidance and tools will help with local assessment – out later this year • Joined up local policies on air quality and climate change can help with maximising carbon benefits and minimising air quality impacts

26. Combined Heat and Power and Air Quality - Guidance for Local Authorities Ed Dearnley Policy Officer