Replacing the fossil fuels with “clean energy”

 
  Built 50 years ago, “Schiller” plant, located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, England is an example of plant of coal based energy plant built at mid 20.
The people who are living several km. away from this plant are saying that all the things are covered with a black layer and they can’t stand the situation no more.
Shiller is not the only such example of power plant in England. Coal based energy plants are supplying more than 50% of England’s energy necessary. This pollution could be avoided if biomass (wood chips and wood waste) would be burned instead of coals.
Innovative changes are expected in Schiller’s activity starting with December 2005. It will become the first plant in England that will modify one of its boilers to adapt it to burn wood biomass: wood waste, wood chips and small trees.
“Biomass” burning was not always considered a “clean” technology: on the contrary, it was considered to aggravate the air pollution and respiratory diseases. But the new technological processes can reduce the emission of sulfure dioxide (the primary cause of acid rain) by more than 95% and the nitrous oxide emission (the smog primary cause) by more than 70%.
Schiller owners think this project will create a new important market for the wood industry. The plant will get locally the wood waste, sawmill residues and other wood materials as the branches left behind after harvesting.
This technology could reduce emanations with more than 380.000 tones/year and will supply around 50.000 houses.
Some specialists consider this project as being complicated and delicate because mixing wood waste with lead paint-covered shingles or arsenic-treated planks might be more damaging than coal burning.
Maybe the biggest benefit of wood based energy is its role as a carbon neutralizer. Unlike coal – which are extracted underneath the Earth – which make them release supplementary quantities of carbon dioxide when burned, wood is a part of the Earth carbon natural cycle. This makes wood based energy to be more attractive for companies that are trying to comply with the regulations that combat global warming.