UK energy regulator, Ofgem, has today published a summary of the results of its benchmarking exercise of voluntary schemes against the UK’s Renewables Obligation land criteria for woody biomass. The SBP Framework has been evaluated and found to be fully compliant with the legislation. The summary of results can be found in Ofgem’s updated Renewables Obligation: Sustainability Criteria document.
Peter Wilson, SBP Executive Director, commented: “It is excellent news that Ofgem’s benchmarking exercise has found the SBP Framework to be fully compliant with the UK’s legislation on the legality and sustainability of woody biomass used in energy production.
“This firmly establishes SBP and its Framework as an effective certification scheme for biomass users to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. The Framework is already recognised in Denmark through the Danish Energy Agreement, and is undergoing evaluation in Belgium and The Netherlands”.
The SBP Framework of standards and processes enables Biomass Producers, typically pellet and wood chip mills, to demonstrate that they source their feedstock responsibly and that it complies with the regulatory, including sustainability, requirements applicable to power generators burning woody biomass to produce energy.
Under the SBP Framework the Biomass Producer is assessed for compliance with the SBP requirements, specifically that the feedstock it uses, for example, roundwood, sawdust and/or wood chips, is compliant with SBP requirements. That assessment is carried out by an independent, third-party Certification Body. A Biomass Producer that satisfactorily demonstrates compliance receives a certificate and is entitled to make the claim that the biomass it produces is SBP-compliant.
