UK-based ESG, a leading provider of environmental inspection, testing and compliance services, has expanded its staff to reflect the growing interest in renewable energy sources, such as solid biofuels and solid recovered fuels.
A sharp drop in the number of coal orders being processed over the past 10 years has led ESG to invest in its energy-from-waste offering to capitalise on the expanding renewables market. To that end, ESG has named Sarah Gazzola, commercial manager, and Zico Ratan, business development manager as a means to accelerate the company’s growth in the energy-from-waste and solid biofuels market. Both individuals both bring extensive renewable and recyclable fuels experience.
“As the first laboratory in the UK to gain extensive accreditation for the analysis of solid biofuels and solid recovered fuels, we have long been aware of the need for a low carbon alternative to reduce carbon emissions and the dependency on fossil fuels such as coal,” said Jim Clay, operations director for Energy Services at ESG.
Over the last year,
ESG has invested more than £500,000 in new preparation kit, CV rigs, x-ray fluorescence analysers and a laboratory information management system to prepare for the increase in biomass and solid recovered fuel work that we anticipate in the coming years, according to Clay. Furthermore, ESG has witnessed a 53 per cent fall in coal testing over the last 10 years, as more businesses look to renewable energy sources such as solid biofuels and solid recovered fuels.
According to the latest Energy Trends report from the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), bioenergy accounted for a record 5.6TWh (or 7 per cent) of electricity generation in the second quarter of this year. In comparison, generation from coal stations in July was 47 per cent lower than July 2013 — the lowest level since DECC’s data series started. Overall, coal witnessed a significant fall in production, imports and consumption over the first nine months of 2014.