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18 October 2004 - A drive to boost production of trees and plants suitable for environmentally friendly energy has been launched in the UK. Biomass can be used to produce heat and electricity, using crops such as willow, miscanthus and wood fuel from forests.
Food and Farming minister Larry Whitty unveiled a new £3.5m ($6.3m) UK wide bio-energy infrastructure scheme offering grants to help harvest, store, process, and supply biomass for energy production.
Whitty said, "We must look to the future in our search for low-carbon energy sources. Biomass energy has the potential to be a huge benefit in terms of combating climate change, boosting farm diversification and creating more rural jobs."
Also, former farmers' leader Sir Ben Gill will head a new government appointed task force to stimulate biomass supply and demand in a bid to help meet renewable energy targets.
The task force's one-year study of biomass will be led by Sir Ben Gill, with John Roberts, chief executive of United Utilities and Nick Hartley of Oxera Consulting.
Sir Gill said, "I am delighted to have this opportunity to review the biomass sector. Its potential is clear - it can make a huge contribution to important agendas for renewable energy, a critical issue within the climate change issue. But biomass struggles to make progress. With the team, I intend to define why and then look at what needs to be done."
Since 2002, the government has given £66m in capital grants for biomass projects, and the government's Renewables Obligation requires electricity suppliers to obtain 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015.
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