{"id":313962,"date":"2024-03-28T08:50:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T07:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=313962"},"modified":"2024-03-28T08:50:11","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T07:50:11","slug":"slash-burn-the-cult-hates-coal-fired-power-but-loves-whole-forest-fired-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=313962","title":{"rendered":"Slash & Burn: The Cult Hates Coal-Fired Power But Loves Whole Forest-Fired\u00a0Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From STOP THESE THINGS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cult demonises coal for the CO2 it releases, but without a hint of irony reckons that the CO2 released from wood is a completely different molecule. Adding the term \u2018biomass\u2019 to the millions of tonnes of timber stripped from the forests of the northern hemisphere apparently makes all the difference. Whereas the term \u2018dirty\u2019 is employed with a certain kind of venom, whenever coal is mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear-felling forests and burning them in power stations is, we are told, clean, green and perfectly renewable, don\u2019t you see \u2013 as if showering in the ash from incinerated pine trees will leave you feeling fresh as a daisy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slashing and burning modern forests, and merrily wiping out entire ecosystems and healthy habitats for critters, large and small, doesn\u2019t rate a mention. This is all about reducing human generated carbon dioxide gas, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Carboniferous period, a couple of hundred million years ago, the world was awash with CO2 and, believe it or not, covered from top to bottom in swathes of forests and swamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the blink of a geological eye, those vast tracts of forest were subsumed by swamps and, over time, vast seams of coal were deposited, layer upon layer into the Earth\u2019s crust<\/a>. But that\u2019s to speak of what\u2019s become a pure and natural evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, those looking to flaunt their green credentials in the so-called \u2018modern age\u2019, don\u2019t hesitate in jumping ahead of the queue and torching whole forests, before geology and time can turn them into the stuff that\u2019s been dug up and used to great effect, for centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The irony and hypocrisy is not lost on John Hinderaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burn those Trees<\/strong>
Powerline
John Hinderaker
2 March 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We have written a couple of times<\/a> about biomass, which is a fancy term for burning wood. If you thought using wood fires for energy was out of date\u2013it has been, actually, for a century and a half\u2013you are behind the times. Wood burning is considered \u201cgreen,\u201d a wholly political concept, and therefore is heavily subsidized in Europe. Millions of trees in the U.S. and Canada suffer the consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest from the United Kingdom<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood, the fuel that British industry thought it had left behind more than a century ago, is staging a comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Powering the resurgence is Drax Group, owner of the controversial Drax power station that recently posted a 10-fold increase in its latest yearly profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its plant in Yorkshire, Britain\u2019s largest and most controversial power station, generated around 6pc of the country\u2019s electricity in 2023 by burning 6.4 million tonnes of wood. In context, it is the equivalent of 27 million trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 million trees! The same Telegraph article points out that the New Forest only has 46 million trees, less than two years\u2019 worth. So where does the wood come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year alone Drax imported 4.6 million tonnes of wood from the US and another 760,000 tonnes from Canada, with further deliveries coming from Brazil, Latvia and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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You might think that cutting down trees in the southern U.S., thus preventing them from absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere\u2013do they still teach junior high kids about photosynthesis?\u2013shipping them to Europe on diesel-powered ships, and then burning them, releasing carbon into the atmosphere in the form of CO2, must be the dumbest possible way of generating electricity. And, while it is appallingly stupid, and not \u201cgreen\u201d in any coherent sense, it is arguably not as dumb as wind and solar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Drax chief executive Will Gardiner says], \u201cWe have created a business which plays an essential role in supporting energy security, providing dispatchable, renewable power for millions of homes and businesses, particularly during periods of peak demand when there is low wind and solar power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes: burning wood on an industrial scale is idiotic, but at least it works in the dark and when the wind isn\u2019t blowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, why does such a foolish way of generating electricity exist? Mandates and subsidies, of course:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Peter\u2019s reference to cost relates to the taxpayer subsidies that Drax receives for producing green energy, which amounted to \u00a3617m in 2022 and \u00a3587m in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, China is humming along with more than 1,000 coal-fired power plants, and more coming on line constantly.
Powerline<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cult demonises coal for the CO2 it releases, but without a hint of irony reckons that the CO2 released from wood is a completely different molecule. Adding the term \u2018biomass\u2019 to the millions of tonnes of timber stripped from the forests of the northern hemisphere apparently makes all the difference. Whereas the term \u2018dirty\u2019 is employed with a certain kind of venom, whenever coal is mentioned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":313970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691827906,691818076,691827908,691827907],"class_list":{"0":"post-313962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-burning-wood","9":"tag-co2","10":"tag-drax-group","11":"tag-heavily-subsidized","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0woodpelletsr.jpg?fit=1587%2C1600&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1jFU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":198187,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=198187","url_meta":{"origin":313962,"position":0},"title":"EU\u2019s \u2018Carbon Neutral\u2019 Policy of Burning Forests for Fuel Spews 28% More CO2 Emissions Than Burning Coal","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/05\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBurning woody biomass increases atmospheric CO2 levels for decades. Burning forest biomass for power generation emits more CO2 per-unit of final energy than burning fossil fuels, including coal.\u201d\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0Bloomer et al., 2022 Image Source:\u00a0IGSD It is scientifically well known that (a) \u201cthe carbon emission from wood fuel is bigger by\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Scientists-say-the-false-accounting-of-forest-bioenergy-biomass-emissions-must-end.jpg?fit=809%2C803&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/0Scientists-say-the-false-accounting-of-forest-bioenergy-biomass-emissions-must-end.jpg?fit=809%2C803&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, 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