Events in Sussex will highlight progress in wood fuel and biomass heating sectors

South East Wood Fuels, Douch Biomass and the CLA have announced two events to showcase new biomass heating installations in Sussex and to provide an update on the woodfuel and biomass heating sectors.

The first will take place on Friday October 18th at Laughton Lodge in East Sussex.  The district heating system at this site has recently been upgraded and a new boiler installed.  

On hand will be a range of RHI, woodfuel and biomass heating experts who will highlight recent developments in the sector.  The event also offers free 'surgeries' for those interested in undertaking a woodfuel or biomass heating project.

The second event takes place at Bakers Farm in West Sussex on Friday October 25th.  Both events are free.  To register please visit the following sites to book your place:

1. Laughton Lodge - Oct 18th: Click here
2. Bakers Farm - Oct 25th: Click here

 

Kent Tree Health Information Day

Status at 11/12/2012

Over 200 people attended the Forestry Commission's Tree Health Information Day on December 18th where a detailed briefing on Ash dieback (Chalara Fraxinea) was delivered to forestry professionals from Kent and the wider South East.

The detailed presentations from a range of tree experts included an update on the scientific understanding of Chalara, the current status of the outbreak in the UK and the control plan that was recently introduced by Defra.

The full list of presentations, which can be found on the Forestry Commission website, were as follows:

• Simon Hodgson - Introduction
• Dr Joan Webber - Science Update
• Bruce Rothnie - Chalara, where we are now
• Martin Ward - Tree Health & Plant Biosecurity
• Andrew Smith - The Chalara control plan
• Dr Gary Kerr - Trees in the Landscape, silvicultural guidance on adapting to chalara
• Jim Quaife - Trees in the built environment

This event was one of two information days delivered by the Forestry Commission during December, the other being in East Anglia where the other significant outbreaks of Chalara are located.

The event provided a chance for forestry professionals to engage with tree health experts and seek guidance on managing affected woodlands.

The Kent event also included an exhibition involving a range of related organisations, including:

• Country Land and Business Association
• Oakover Nurseries
• English Woodlands
• The Deer Initiative
• Forest Research
• High Weald AONB
• Kent Downs AONB

CLA Woodfuel Event

Barclays launches £100m renewables fund for farmers

Brookland Farm, Herefordhsire
(Photo Ben Whittle)

Along with the partnership between Siemens and the Carbon Trust it seems that private finance for renewables is really beginning to take off.

Barclays has launched a £100m renewables fund aimed at the farming sector.  It focuses on electricity production from solar, wind and hydro technologies, leaving the Government's publicly Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to incentivise the production of renewable heat from September 30th this year.

The scheme is expected to fund around 100 projects ranging in value between £250,000 and £700,000.  The fund managers anticipate that most projects will be solar (photovoltaic) or wind.

Clearly the launch of this fund is more good news for renewable energy in the UK. However, traditional constraints such as planning and landscape impact remain and not everyone will be able to adopt these technologies.

Many of the land and property owners we have spoken to have already considered solar which is unsurprising considering the nature of the technology and the relatively large roof areas associated with agricultural buildings.

But other options do exist.

Given the good access to woodland within the agricultural sector biomass heating is also generating a lot of interest and we are seeing increasing interest in feasibility studies and the RHI, both for commercial and domestic applications.

More details on the Barclays fund can be found on the Guardian and Barclays websites.

If you are considering biomass heating and would like to undertake a feasibility study please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Matthew Morris

Woodfuel Development Manager

Kent Downs AONB

matthew.morris@kentdowns.org.uk

01303 815 171