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LONDON, England, December 14, 2005 (Refocus Weekly) The cost to install green heat facilities is lower than the cost for green power, and will reduce GHG emissions by a higher level, according to an analysis prepared for the UK government.
It cost £4,558 to install each of the 78,470 solar water heating systems in Britain, £7,771 for each of the 150 biomass pellet system and £9,444 for each of the 546 geothermal (earth energy) heat pumps, explains Energy Saving Trust and Cambridge University in a report to show the potential for microgeneration. Since incentives were introduced in 2002, the cost for 6,694 solar thermal systems has dropped to £3,684, to £6,699 for 116 biomass facilities while the price for 500 earth energy systems rose slightly to £9,690.
By comparison, the price for 1,301 solar PV systems has been £15,484, £17,134 for 650 wind turbines and £26,500 for 90 hydroelectric facilities. The price for 990 micro cogeneration (combined heat & power) and 5 fuel cell systems was not known for the calculation.
The report says the eight renewable energy technologies could reduce Britain’s CO2 emissions by 6.5% by 2030, of which earth energy and CHP would each contribute 1.7% and fuel cells slightly less, while biomass and wind would contribute 1% each and solar PV would be marginal.
“The cost of energy from PV in the UK is currently very high due to large capital costs of the technology,” it explains. “To maintain uptake, incentives are required until circa 2030 to achieve cost equivalence.”
Domestic PV could be cost-effective by 2030 if it receives an energy export equivalence, but would only be cost-effective without EEE with a cost/performance breakthrough. “Cost effectiveness for commercial PV is not predicted before 2050 due to the low commercial electricity prices except in specific high value markets.”
“Domestic small wind could be cost effective by 2010-2015 but always requires EEE,” except in very high wind speed sites (>6 m/sec) where small wind could be cost effective before 2010. Without EEE, small wind is unlikely to achieve cost effectiveness before 2050 and cost-effectiveness for commercial small wind (10 kW) is delayed by 5 years due to the lower commercial electricity cost.
Solar water heating does not become cost competitive with gas boiler water heating, and will require large cost reductions to break even with electrical water heating by 2020. Biomass heating currently can be economic compared with electrical heating, but large cost reductions are necessary for break even with gas heating while earth energy heat pumps show potential for competitiveness with electrical heating by 2005 to 2010, but they are not projected to be cost-effective with gas heating.
EEE metering enables Stirling and small reciprocating engine CHP systems to be competitive by 2015, but the absence of EEE delays this level by 5 years. “In the long term, fuel cell CHP is potentially the most cost-effective technology with break even circa 2015 and generated energy costs up to 2 p/kWh below baseline costs by2050.”
A small 1 kW electricity-led fuel cell CHP achieves cost-effectiveness with EEE by 2015 and five years later without EEE, depending on technology cost assumptions, it adds. Decentralized generation with a 3 kW heat-led fuel cell CHP implies substantial electricity export and requires EEE for cost-effectiveness. Without EEE, break-even is not predicted.
Microgeneration is defined as any technology connected to the distribution network (if electric), with a capacity below 100 kW while most domestic installations will be below 3 kWe, though thermal systems could be larger. “Microgeneration could deliver significant efficiency and CO2 benefits, through increased use of renewables, utilisation of waste heat from electricity generation or renewable heating fuels, and avoidance of losses in the electricity transmission and distribution system.”
For microgeneration to have an impact on the UK grid, units must be installed in the millions, which will require a new highly-decentralized approach to energy planning and policy, the report concludes. “In addition, a new understanding of the likely interaction between microgeneration technology and its multitude of potential end users must be developed.”
There currently are less than 100,000 microgeneration installations in Britain, and the level of grant funding is closely correlated with annual installations. The sectors seeing the most yearly installations are PV and solar water heating “in response to generous grant schemes” while the yearly installations of earth energy heat pumps and small wind turbines is increasing rapidly due to support programs and rapid cost reductions. Micro-CHP is only beginning to enter the market, but there is a very large technical effort on both Stirling engine and fuel cell technologies.
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