Biomass Electricity Subsidies: Deforestation Debate
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Lord Lucas
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Biomass Electricity Subsidies: Deforestation
Lord Lucas Excerpts(3 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Callanan (Con)
Provided that it is not commercially confidential, I will certainly share that with the noble Lord.
Lord Lucas (Con) [V]
Instead of razing American forests would it not be a better use of our subsidies to stimulate the development of a coppice harvesting service in the southern UK? Coppiced woodlands are rich ecologies that need regular felling but they are not getting it because there is currently no economic outlet for the timber.
Lord Callanan (Con)
My noble friend makes a good suggestion. We did try that, of course. Subsidies have been available for more than a decade but we have seen a lack of uptake because they cannot compete with the use of waste products in huge commercial forestries in the US.