Biomass Heating & Power systems

Biomass is material from renewable sources such as trees, crops or animal wastes, which is then burnt in a similar way to conventional fossil fuels to produce either heat or electricity.

There are three main types of biomass as illustrated below.

Where is the market for energy crops?

• Co-firing - Power stations are obliged to source 5% of their fuel supplies from renewable sources such as energy crops.
• Large-scale biomass electricity generation.
• Small-scale biomass heating initiatives - A number of small businesses are already installing biomass-fuelled boilers and there are on-going plans to get schools and other public buildings to install them as well.

It currently only accounts for about 1% of electricity and heating generation. But, renewable energy groups have predicted biomass has the potential to meet 7% of the UK's demand for heat.

Biomass Types

Biomass, technology is being developed to be able to create energy or heating from the raw material. Currently the technology includes thermal conversion via combustion, pyrolysis or gasification as well as waste modification via autoclaving or anaerobic digestion. Naturally, there is the option of using material directly to burn to create heat or use technology via a specialist unit to produce combined heat and power.

The concept is simple, in that biomass is converted by the CHP unit to produce heat or steam to drive turbines to produce energy. The units are now being produced in the UK by British Manufacturers and are readily available to provide CHP on a smaller scale (50 Kw units) to domestic customers or on the larger scale, units can provide up to 35 Mw to heat buildings, or on farm facilities etc, and also sell electricity into the national grid.

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Contact Point for more information:

If you would like more information on Renewable energy, heat or CHP systems please contact Keith Roberts or Lynne Clarke at:

CMS UK Spring Farm Business Centre