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Special
notices Bio-power seems to have scored another success recently. The Renewable Fuels Agency have now accepted our view that methanol used to manufacture bio-diesel as FAME reduces the environmental benefits from using this form of fuel. This is because methanol is itself of fossil origin, being derived from the methane that exudes from oil and gas wells. It is likely that this decision will have a knock-on effect upon the remains of the British Bio-diesel industry, and will make our form of process much more acceptable and economically viable. Other News: We have also recently secured ample supplies of the raw materials used in the manufacture of our basic bio-power solvents, and this means we will soon be able to distribute solvents to bio-power members who are home brew fuel makers, in small deliveries from 4 litres to 200 litres. This will enable anyone to make their own fuel at a cost of about 40p per litre. Do not hesitate to contact me if you need any specific
information. Caro please call using the details below |
What is
Bio-Power (UK)?
Bio-power (UK)
is a network of companies that make a range of bio-fuels made from renewable
materials that can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels, as a means to
address the related issues of Climate Change and Global Warming.
As far as possible, our fuels are derived
from natural organic materials. We prefer to use recycled materials, or
materials that might otherwise present a waste disposal problem. We do
use a small fraction of synthetic or petro-chemical derived materials in our
cheaper fuels, but generally this is derived from material that would otherwise
present a waste disposal problem. In addition to fuels for use in
vehicles, Bio-power also creates fuels for the generation of electricity and
industrial process heating.
Download and read our past issues of Bio-power News, our
monthly magazine in pdf format. Join us and you will
receive Bio-power News every month, and also information about our program of events and activities.
Read our report to the
Treasury in which we propose a much better way of defining and taxing
bio-fuels, that will better encourage their production development and use in
the UK. Follow this link for
further information about the remarkable company structure of the Bio-power
Network. Follow this link to contact us.
About Bio-Power
Bio-power is both the name of the
form of bio-fuel we make, and also the name of our network of companies being
set up throughout the UK and abroad to make our range of bio-fuels. All
the organizations and members of the Bio-power Network support and share the
same ethical aims and objects which are set out in the Bio-power Charter.
Bio-power fuels are made for use as a
transport fuel in vehicles, and also for transmitters, pumps, boats, ships and
industrial heating. They are also used within the Bio-power Network for
the generation of electricity. Our fuels are made to provide an
economically viable alternative to fossil fuels. You will not find our
fuels for sale at normal filling stations. We sell fuels direct to local
hauliers, bus companies, taxi drivers, and all kinds of public service or
voluntary organizations. We do also sell to members of the public who
share our ethical aims and can provide a suitable fuel tank in or alongside
their car park or garage.
There are now over 3,000 members of the
Bio-power Network in the UK in August 2005, and over 250 companies or
organizations actively setting up facilities to collect potential energy stock
for the manufacture of bio-power fuels for sale to meet the needs in their
local area. We run a program of Introductory Seminars to
explain the whole back ground and context of Bio-power, and this has was
attended by over 250 people in the first 9 months. The Introductory
Seminars are intended for those who are considering the manufacture of our form
of bio-fuel as part of and within the Bio-power network on a commercial basis.
There are now 30 factories actually in
production in the UK, and 15 being designed or built outside the UK, with 3
more in the pipeline. It is anticipated that there will be over 100
Bio-power outlets in the UK and Ireland in 2004.
Bio-power won first prize in the Euro-Solar
Awards 'for our outstanding contribution to the development of Renewable Energy
in the UK'. We received this award at Olympia on 21st October 2003. We
also gave two presentations at an International Symposium on Waste management
technology and Renewable Energy held in Hong Kong in February 2004.
About Bio-Power (UK)
Ltd
Bio-power (UK) Ltd is a 'not-for-profit'
company, registered in the United Kingdom, owned and run by the members of the
Bio-power network. It is the operational hub of the Bio-power network,
and its purpose is to serve the needs and aims of its members. We believe
there is a need for dramatic change in the whole culture of business that
results in a small number of very powerful and wasteful multi-national
companies. The whole structure of the Bio-power network promotes a large
number of independent local companies that collect and recycle local energy
resources to meet local energy needs. It is all about co-operation as
opposed to competition in business. It is also about the facilitation of
personal choice and active involvement in the shaping of the world we share in
the future.
Anyone can become a Bio-power supporter.
Simply send an-e-mail to us with your full name, postal address,
post code and a telephone number. Supporters will receive our monthly 'Bio-power News' which provides
information of the most recent developments within the bio-power network, and
also news of our program of events and activities. Bio-power News is
posted by email as a .pdf file, and you will need to install Acrobat pdf reader
to open it.
It is also possible to become a member of Bio-power
and thereby help to shape and further our work. To do this complete a membership
application form, and sign our charter and post them to us with payment of
£25.00. You will then receive a membership number and a card, and will
be able to attend any open Bio-power events, like our AGM, gatherings and
conferences. Members do not have to be potential active bio-power fuel
producers, but those training to become producers within the Bio-power network
will have to be members first. As a member you can join any of the
Bio-power working groups
who meet independently to pursue specific technical or administrative issues
for the benefit of the membership in pursuance of our stated aims.
The next step in becoming more actively
involved within the Bio-power network is to come on one of our Introductory
Seminars. These are held every two or three weeks, generally at Llanberis
in the foothills of Snowdonia, North Wales. Most Seminars are held over a
weekend, and consist of a group of between eight to ten people. The cost
of the two day weekend Introductory Seminar is normally £150.00 per delegate,
and there is a discount price of £120.00 for a second person attending the
same seminar. We will also run Introductory Seminars else where in the UK where
there is a group of at least 10 people and suitable venue can be arranged.
Bio-power Fuels
We make, and promote the commercial
production of a range of renewable organic fuels derived from non-fossil
materials, for use in road vehicles, the generation of electricity and heating.
The main constituent of our fuel is waste vegetable oil or cooking fat, which
we modify to produce a road fuel that in our tests out performs Derv and
bio-diesel created as a Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME).
It is our view that bio-diesel made as FAME
is not a very 'green' form of bio-fuel. It is wasteful of energy, and
requires chemicals to shatter the fat molecule to produce glycerol as a
by-product. Our form of fuel is more akin to both Straight Vegetable Oil,
and also mineral diesel. It can be burned in normal compression ignition
engines just like normal mineral diesel. But unlike all fossil fuels, it
does not contribute to the causes of global warming or pollute the atmosphere
as happens whenever a fossil fuel is burned. Our product for use as a
commercial road fuel is called 'bio-power V100'. We also make a high
energy fuel which we use for heating and electricity generation called
'bio-power G100'. A full description of our products is available at our product range.
The full story of how we originally got
involved in this business is told at how it all began.
How best to use this web
site
This is a completely re-written version
of our first web site, and we hope it is easier to use. We have kept the
structure as simple as possible so it can be read in all kinds of browsers.
We have avoided using complicated graphics, animations or anything that
causes a delay in downloading. Some of the pages do contain a lot of
information, and may take some time to fully load. If you do have any
difficulty, please let us know.
There is a great deal of information
available here, and the content is continually being added to. More
pictures will be included in time. The content is divided up in to
sections according to people's needs. Below is an overview or description
of each section. If you still get confused then probably the best place
to go is the Site Map.
In addition to this public web site there is also a member's web site
which contains information about our activities within the network, and
discussion boards about specific technical issues. Full access to this
site is only available to members who have attended one of our seminars.
The bio-power Charter
Our primary motivation is the need to address the related issues of Climate
Change and Global Warming. Our aim is to provide a real alternative to
the use of fossil fuels, which it is now generally accepted are the primary
(but not exclusive) cause of the present climatic predicament. However, we are
also developing better ways of operating in business. In our view, it is
the top down form of business management, which creates large, competitive and
powerful profit seeking multi-national companies, that got us all into this
mess in the first place. Our vision is for a bottom up form of business
which emphasizes co-operation, partnership, and inclusion of everyone who
shares the same ethical aims and perspective. This includes our
customers, our suppliers and those working with us in the bio-fuels industry
who share our aims. The ethical basis of this vision is described in more
detail in the Bio-power
Charter
About the Bio-power company and
the Bio-power network
This section contains all the details about our company, our aims and
strategy, our trading addresses, registration numbers etc., also how to join us
as a supporter and as a full subscribing member.
Our Product Range
This is about the fuels we make, our simple heat exchanger and the services we
offer.
Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ)
This is a list of the most commonly asked questions about the use of bio-fuels.
If you have a question that is not answered there, then do write to us.
Deeper Study
If you are researching in to bio-fuels or the making of bio-diesel, then most of
the technical stuff published on our old web site is here, including a
description of the Basic
Chemistry of Bio-fuels as is used to make Biodiesel (not our form of fuel),
and a Glossary of technical
Terms. There also is a section explaining how to make a simple form of our
fuel which you can test in your own engine, and how to build a simple heat exchanger
following our design to improve the performance of most engines when running on
bio-fuels.
Our vision for a bio-power network
Bio-power is not a normal Trade Association or network of companies.
Although this project started in North Wales, it is now being shared with
people and companies not just within the UK, but all over the world. It
makes sense to convert locally available organic energy resources through a
network of many local small businesses rather than through large and wasteful
multi-national companies. Our vision to set up an association of
bio-power fuel makers throughout the UK has now very much materialised, and we hope
it will continue to expand.
Join
us
You can join us as a supporter for free and receive Bio-power News, or you can
join us as a subscribing member for £25.00 and then fully partake in the
development of the Bio-power Network as a company member.
Invest in Bio-power
To date we have not been able to get any form of grant or commercial support
for our work in the development of sustainable bio-fuels. Yet we have now
set up a commercial scale production plant in North Wales, and there are also
many other similar local businesses seeking funding support to use our
technique throughout the UK. We could not be doing this without private
funding support. If you want to help support the development of this
environmentally beneficial form of fuel, and help us to provide viable
alternatives to petrochemical fuels then why not consider helping not just as a
customer but also as an investor?
Quotes
We have received many very positive and helpful comments from customers and
supporters, some of which are published here. We also include some very
unhelpful and misleading comments made by people in prominent positions who
evidently do not share our concern to do all possible to address the issues of
Global Warming and Climate Change.
Links
The World-wide-web only works if there are links on to other sites which cover
similar or related subjects. I hope this is a comprehensive list of
links to other sites about bio-diesel and other alternative non-fossil fuels.
If you have a web site that you feel should be included here, then please
let us know about it!
John Nicholson, Bio-power
(UK) Ltd, or its officers, trustees or employees, do not accept any
responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from
action in reliance on or as a result of the material included in or omitted
from this web site.
Copyright © is held by John
Nicholson 2002. All rights are reserved. No part of the information published
on this web site may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any
retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission of the
copyright holder except as expressly permitted by law.
John Nicholson
Bio-power(UK) Ltd,
Madryn, Lon Hen Felin,
Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 4BE
Telephone: 01248 360916
E-mail: biopoweruk@hotmail.com
April 2009