With oil and gas prices continually rising, the heating of large
residences and farms is becoming increasingly more expensive with
people looking to alternatives to conventional heating.
A biomass boiler may be one such alternative. Fuelled by
woodchips, these boilers will efficiently heat a number of
buildings on a farm or an estate and can be installed into existing
buildings that are converted for their use. If a project meets
certain eligibility criteria then grants may be available to help
with the development costs.
Chartered surveyors Fisher German have recently overseen the
installation of a new biomass boiler at the Thorpe Estate near
Tamworth. It replaced several existing oil fired boilers and is
situated in the rear of a large building which formerly housed the
dairy unit now converted into a potato store. A new energy
supply company has been formed to operate the boiler and to sell
heat to the various users including Thorpe Hall, the office
development in the Old Stables and three other dwellings at Home
Farm.
The new biomass district heating scheme at Thorpe was
commissioned in March; a grant of £152,900 was paid on an
eligible capital cost of about £400,000. The grant was made
available from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
under the Bio Energy Capital Grant Scheme (Round 5) which supports
renewable energy projects.
David Legh of chartered surveyors Fisher German comments, "We
were faced with replacing several oil fired boilers including an
elderly inefficient one in the hall. We looked at a number of
options, but concluded the most viable option for the client was a
biomass boiler.
"Woodchip fuel for the boiler currently comes from a competitive
supplier, however over time fuel such as willow coppice will be
grown on site as well as using wood from the existing woodland,
helping to produce a cost saving for the client. We have had a lot
of interest from interested parties looking to develop this source
of heat generation".
For further information regarding biomass heating systems or
grants that are available for its development, please call David
Legh on 01785 273988 or email david.legh@fishergerman.co.uk
For more information about Fisher German, please visit their
website here: www.fishergerman.co.uk