Climate Change

Climate change is now widely accepted as a reality rather than a theory. Floods, droughts and heat waves have been occurring with increasing force and frequency in recent years, with the effects felt most keenly by those in less developed parts of the world.

There are arguments as to the cause of this change, but many experts believe the burning of fossil fuels releasing carbon previously locked in the earth's crust has contributed significantly. Summerleaze is of the opinion that, whether you agree with this argument or not, the risk is material and ought to be valued.

The Summerleaze group has been at the forefront of renewable power generation in the UK since we opened our first power station in 1987. To date, we have generated around two billion units (2,000,000,000 kWh) of renewable electricity.

AD can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a number of ways.

• All the methane from the AD process, (a greenhouse gas 20x more powerful than CO2), is collected and used in producing electricity a by product of which is CO2. Less sophisticated composting and landfill technologies will still give off some methane gas. All the CO2 produced is from material already in the carbon cycle, therefore contributing nothing to overall atmospheric levels.
• This methane gas can be combusted in an engine to produce electricity replacing some of the need for fossil fuel burning power stations. AD has a positive net energy balance as opposed to composting which is a net energy consumer.
• Sequestration of CO2 in the soil by the addition of organic matter.
• Replacement of energy intensive chemical fertilisers.
• Alternative to peat allows peat bogs to absorb CO2.

Diminishing fossil fuel reserves mean there is a need to develop alternative technologies to supply our energy needs regardless of the arguments about climate change. For example, the dwindling supplies of North Sea gas means the UK is now a net importer of gas. We are now required to pump gas from as far away as Russia, apart from the expense of such projects, in a volatile world it is sensible to supply as much of our energy needs as we can from domestic sources.