CWP SUPPORTS JAPANESE SRF STUDY

Our CEO Gideon Richard’s has recently returned from a trip to Japan as Convenor of the ISO TC300 Solid Recovered Fuels Working Group 1 covering Terminology and Quality Assurance.  It turned out to be an eventful visit, an earthquake shook Gideon and his fellow ISO delegates for two days, the first snow to cover Tokyo in 54 years fell around them and it also introduced Gideon to two TC300 colleagues from Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan, Ms Rieko Kubota and Dr Tomonori Ishigaki.

Ms Kubota and Dr Ishigaki were due to visit Europe only days after the Tokyo meeting on a field trip to Germany, Belgium and the UK.  This field trip aimed to help them better understand the development of the SRF market in Europe, how these fuels are being deployed and the legislation and regulatory frameworks that support the utilisation of this valuable resource.  From a Japanese perspective, most electricity is generated from imported fuels and the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear plant failure has highlighted the need for more innovative and resource efficient ways of generating electricity.

Gideon was delighted to help his Japanese colleagues with the UK leg of their visit and was able to organise meetings with Ofgem, DBEIS and also with the Labour MP Barry Sheerman at his Portcullis House office.  By using Gideon’s contacts Rieko and Tomonori were able to gain insights on current regulatory thinking underpinning the promotion of RDF/SRF use in the UK and the drivers providing government confidence to incentivise the use of these materials.

The information gleaned by Rieko and Tomonori on their visit is likely to form part of a report on the RDF/SRF market in Europe, including regulation and legislative findings. NIES are providing the report to assist the Japanese markets and those in the ministries in the development of policies to promote the use of RDF/SRF in Japan.