NEWS RELEASE
Date: 6 June 2008
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Cash boost for biomass fuel for heat and electricity generation
Farmers, foresters and biomass producers can apply for up to £200,000 each under a new round of grants opened today by Environment Minister Phil Woolas.
The Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme will support the biomass industry in Englandy helping those supplying biomass fuel for use in heat and electricity generation.
Phil Woolas said:
“We have to rethink our energy mix. We know biomass has the potential to considerably reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and cut our carbon emissions. UK producers are setting the standard and have shown production can be sustainable and our investment will support their commitment to this emerging industry.
“The fund will inject cash at the point of production. By investing in the biomass industry we are helping farmers, foresters and other producers to diversify and become part of the environmental industry sector which is currently worth more than £25bn and growing.”
All projects must be based in England and must supply the biomass to end-users in Great Britain. Grants are available for up to a maximum of £200,000 per producer group or business.
The deadline for applications is 5 August 2008 for applications from businesses and 5 September 2008 from producer groups.
Notes to editors
1. The scheme is open to the following groups:
- Producer groups and businesses who are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- All members of a producer group must be growers. Businesses do not need to be growers.
- And it applies to the following crops:
- Short rotation coppice (willow, poplar, alder, ash, hazel, lime, silver birch, sweet chestnut and sycamore), miscanthus, switch grass, reed canary grass, prairie cord grass, rye grass, straw, woodfuel from forestry, arboricultural tree management and primary processing and other energy crops at Defra’s discretion.
- And it does not apply to the following:
- Wood arising from secondary processing and any wood that has been chemically treated or painted, oilseed rape to be used to produce heat and electricity, biomass for processing into transport fuels or animal waste products (e.g. poultry litter, sewage etc)
For an application form, contact the Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme Helpline on 01355 593800, or e-mail: help@beis.org.uk
2. The scheme can fund administrative set-up costs for producer groups. This can include the rental of office accommodation, the purchase or rental of office and IT equipment, administrative staff costs, travel, overheads and legal and administrative fees. Applications can also be made to fund the purchase or rental of specialist capital items for producer groups and businesses such as pre-use processing (e.g. dryers, chippers, pelleters etc), quality assurance (e.g. for checking moisture content, chip size etc), specialised handling (e.g. walking floor trailers etc), components to build bespoke specialist equipment and storage, and hard-standing. The money can also go towards training for producer groups and businesses
3. Biomass will have an important role to play in meeting the EU target of 20% renewable energy by 2020.
4. Biomass energy can reduce carbon emissions because the carbon dioxide emitted as the biomass is burnt has already been offset by the carbon dioxide the crop absorbed as it grew; although these carbon savings will be affected by the energy used in the crop's cultivation, harvesting, processing and transportation. Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide that has been locked away for millions of years.
5. At present, biomass provides 3.5% of UK electricity and 0.6% of heat demand. Biomass could potentially supply 6% of UK electricity by 2020. Demand for renewable heat could also potentially increase to about 6% by 2020.
End
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Page published: 6 June 2008