Company Information for Alkane Energy plc

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Company Statement

ALKANE ENERGY RECOVERS EMISSIONS OF METHANE FROM DISUSED COAL MINES AND USES THEM AS FUEL FOR RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY GENERATION.

Alkane’s UK designed coal mine methane capture and renewable energy generation plants have a capacity to produce 133 GWh of electricity from emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. In 2006, Alkane’s generation plants removed atmospheric emissions equivalent to about 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Alkane builds and operates decentralised methane extraction and electricity generation plants which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Alkane sells electricity and gas to local customers from its containerised energy plants

Alkane is the leading UK producer of Climate Change Levy exempt electricity using technology that converts damaging methane emissions from abandoned coal mines into electricity and heat.

Alkane sells its management and technical consulting services to the renewable energy and carbon trading communities

Alkane has started the process required to verify its emissions savings for sale in the voluntary carbon trading market which is gradually replacing offsets as a means of reducing industry’s carbon dioxide emissions.

If the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is extended to include methane, future income may also be earned from trading of carbon emission reduction certificates (CERs).

Alkane Energy plc operations are handled by Alkane Energy UK Limited which manages decentralised electricity generation plants in the UK and Germany.

Statement by CEO, Dr Cameron Davies

“Our aim is to add value for our shareholders by making a positive environmental impact through reducing emissions of coal mine methane into the atmosphere. In order to achieve this aim we rely on the commitment of our people, the support of our investors and clear policy support from the Government to reduce the impact of coal mine methane on the global environment.

Alkane is a member of the Association of Coal Mine Methane Operators (ACMMO) which is lobbying the Government to include this recoverable energy source in the same band of the revised Renewable Obligation as landfill methane and sewage digester gas. ACMMO campaigns to inform public and Government opinion about the powerful influence of coal mine methane emissions on the environment and the benefits of using them as an energy source.

Coal mine methane was exempted for the Climate Change Levy and this gas is considered to be a renewable source of energy in Germany and France. This is not yet the case in the UK but ACMMO believes that on pragmatic grounds the industry capturing this damaging greenhouse gas should be supported.

Alkane’s engineers and managers have accumulated thousands of man years of operational experience of CMM capture systems and this knowledge is dedicated to providing practical, technologically advanced but cost-effective solutions for the capture and use of this green energy source.”

Company Diagram

The mine gas process

Operations and Technology

 
Coal mine methane (CMM) or mine gas is the damaging greenhouse gas released from coal seams during and after mining operations. Methane is released into the atmosphere when coal is mined and continues to emit long after mining operations are abandoned. In the UK, there are over 1,000 disused coal mines and DEFRA research supports the industry view that these mines are responsible for substantial UK greenhouse gas emissions.

According to estimates in two DEFRA* reports on CMM emissions prepared by environmental consultants White Young Green in 2005, the largest abandoned coal mines in the UK emit over 60,000 tonnes of methane per year, equivalent to approximately 1.4 million tonnes of CO2. The consultants modelled future mine methane emissions and showed that these will continue beyond 2050. They concluded that “It is clear that recent closures and closures in the near future are likely to make significant step increases in the total emissions for the next 5 to 10 years”.

The cumulative total emissions which could be captured during this time-frame is estimated at nearly 30 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This means that 1.3 million tonnes of pure methane will emit to the atmosphere unless energy capture schemes are installed on all the abandoned mine sites reported by DEFRA. If all this methane were converted into electricity, the cumulative total to 2050 works out at 45,000 GWh, equivalent to the output of a small gas fired power station.

Alkane has six mine gas capture plants operating in the UK and one in Germany. The company’s inventory of UK licences and mines is currently being reviewed in the light of the recent higher electricity prices, coal bed methane (CBM) potential and to complete plans for a 5 year drilling and development programme. In addition, the company is planning to increase output capacity at existing sites where gas reserves are proven and these additional developments will be completed as soon as practicable.

The following Alkane Energy UK Limited sites with an installed capacity of 16.61MW are currently in operation saving the equivalent of around 560,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Site Locations and Capacity in MW with Max CO2 mitigation (tonnes)
Bevercotes Nottinghamshire (UK); 4.05; 138,155
Joarin Gelsenkirchen (DE); 1.0; 34,112
Mansfield Nottinghamshire (UK); 3.7; 126,216
Sherwood Nottinghamshire (UK); 0.66; 20,467
Warsop Nottinghamshire (UK); 1.35; 46,052
Wheldale West Yorkshire (UK); 4.5; 153,054
Whitwell Derbyshire (UK); 1.35; 46,052
Total 16.61 MW and  564,108 tonnes mitigation 

 

Geographical Spread

UK

Germany

Board of Directors and Key Management

John Lander	Chairman
Dr Cameron Davies	Chief Executive
David Oldham	Technical Director
Stephen Goalby	Finance Director
Lord Fraser of Carmyllie	Non-Executive Director
Julia Henderson	Non-Executive Director

Company Address Alkane Energy plcEdwinstowe HouseHigh Street Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom NG21 9PR Telephone: +44 (0) 1623 827927 Facsimile: +44 (0) 1623 827930 Email: info[at]alkane.co.uk Website: http://www.alkane.co.uk

Capital 91,926,924 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 0.5p each, with voting rights

Related News

05/08/08 - Alkane Energy’s Coal Mine Methane Portfolio Set To Benefit From Rising Electricity Prices

Most Recent Statement

06/09/07 - Notice of Results
05/08/07 - Holding(s) in Company
11/07/07 - Pro 2 Update
27/06/07 - Annual Report and Accounts
22/05/07 - Carbon Emissions Savings