A new kind of domestic fuel cell boiler powered by liquefied petroleum gas, is being developed by Calor and Ceres Power, and is aimed at the two million rural households currently off the mains gas grid. Calor claim it offers a radical alternative to the Government's expensive and controversial renewable energy measures.

The new boiler is designed to cut by 50 per cent a year carbon dioxide emissions at the average domestic house using heating oil.

Details of the new approach were released amid opinion polling suggesting that the public is reluctant to make major financial sacrifices to address climate change. Under current plans, Ministers plan to impose extra costs on consumers to fund a switch to energy sources such as biomass (wood chip boilers) and wind turbines.

The fuel cell boiler developers believe that higher electricity, gas and heating oil prices will be used to subsidise a switch to biomass and wind – the officially preferred technologies for hitting the Government’s target of reducing carbon emissions by 34 per cent by 2020. Ministers are committed to raising the renewable element in energy generation from 1.5 per cent today to 15 per cent by 2020.

The developers say the new British boilers, to be launched on LPG in 2012, will also generate up to 80 per cent of the electricity required at the average property, and that they will cost around £5000 – far less than the £14,000 cost of installing a wood chip boiler.

British Gas is developing a similar system to be used by families on mains gas, and this will hit the market in 2011.

Paul Blacklock, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Calor, said: “We fully support the urgent need to cut carbon emissions and the appropriate use of renewable technologies. But we think the Government's current wholesale reliance on renewables will not deliver the goods and is not affordable. The new technology we are developing with our partners will ease the burden on consumers while ensuring the UK hits our all important carbon emission reduction targets."

Calor say the new breed of boilers will not place a burden on the economy, which they state is in clear contrast to the Government policy on their preferred biomass boilers, since their new boilers already exist, or are close to market.

They say the Calor boilers will reduce fuel bills for both commercial and domestic users, whereas the Government’s biomass policy will substantially increase fuel prices both at the point of sale and through subsidies and charges. Calor point out that increases of up to 37 per cent for domestic gas and 13 per cent for electricity are factored into existing Government plans.

Calor estimate that their technology will save around £60 billion and reduce domestic gas bills from their current projected increases by 30 per cent by 2020. Electricity bills would fall by 15 per cent from current projections.

Posted on Environment Times online on 20th January 2010.