Ø     The carbon cycle

The energy centre was converted from coal. This is equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road so is a significant contribution to avoiding climate change.

Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere and acts as a ‘greenhouse gas’ capturing radiation from the Earth’s surface and maintaining the Earth’s temperature. From the industrial revolution until now, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been ever increasing. Mankind has used fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas) and carbon, stored for millions of years, has been re-released to the atmosphere. Scientists have begun to record change to the Earth’s climate and such changes hold great risks such as rising sea level, major disturbances to ecological systems and extreme weather events. Hence there is great interest in fuels and sources of energy that do not contribute carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.  

There is a natural carbon cycle between plant life and the world’s atmosphere. When plants grow they take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. When plants decay naturally, this carbon dioxide is re-released to the atmosphere. When plant material, or biomass, is used for fuel, carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere by combustion. This replaces the natural release of carbon dioxide by decay. Hence, wood and Fibre Fuel are ‘carbon neutral’ – they do not contribute to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.