Biomass Heat Scheme Awards

A restaurant, brewery and a hotel are among businesses across Scotland that will boost the use of renewable heating and, by extension, the generation of renewable heating.

The Scottish Biomass Heat Scheme has just made grants totalling £1.1 million to 16 projects to reduce energy costs, secure jobs in forestry and deliver annual savings of over 7,000 tonnes of carbon – equivalent to taking 3,000 cars off the roads.

Energy Minister and Argyll’s MSP, Jim Mather, says: ‘A viable renewable heat sector is vital to becoming a truly low carbon economy. We have the forestry resource and the skills in Scotland and there are many opportunities for businesses to use more biomass heating, especially in areas off the gas grid.

‘These Biomass Heat Scheme grants will help a range of different businesses reduce emissions and cut costs, while securing green jobs. The use of more woodfuel will build sustainability into our economy.

‘We are working with Forestry Commission Scotland to look at all aspects of supply to maximise the available resource and meet the rising demand for woodfuel. We announced earlier this year that 100 million trees would be planted in Scotland by 2015, providing more sustainable materials for biomass heating’.

Daniel Borisewitz, Policy Manager Bioenergy and Heat at Scottish Renewables, says: ‘Since 2008, the Scottish Biomass Heat Scheme has been instrumental in the development of renewable heating solutions throughout the country. This latest round of funding further demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to the sector and will provide the necessary upfront capital to develop viable projects in the interim period before the launch of the Renewable Heat Incentive’.

The Awards

One of these – to the Isle of Eriska Hotel – is in Argyll.

We have clarified that the awards made to  businesses and referring to company infrastructural facilities, like head offices and warehouses, have been made for proposals to heat these premises by using biomass systems.

• Angus Biofuels – Hillcrest Head Office, Dundee – £100,000;
• Angus Biofuels – Lyon Crescent Student Housing, Bridge of Allan – £164,500;
• Black Isle Brewery – Black Isle Brewery, Munlochy – £54,470;
• County Fabrics – Wood Pellet Heating System, Crook of Devon, Kinross – £7,566;
• Coventry for Fencing – Auchterarder head office – £29,713;
• Coventry for Fencing – Carstairs showroom and warehouse – £34,306;
• Deeside Cuisine Ltd – The Cowshed Restaurant, Banchory – £22,613;
• Douglas and Angus Estates – Newmains District Heating Scheme, South Lanarkshire – £134,405;
• Eriska Enterprises Ltd – Eriska Hotel Biomass Project, Isle of Eriska – £37,612;
• John Gordon and Son Ltd – Biomass Boiler for Sawmill, Nairn – £182,473;
• John O’Groats Leisure Ltd – Caberfeidh House/Seaview Hotel Redevelopment, John O’Groats – £51,808;
• Highland Grain Ltd – Grain drying using low grade barley and barley dust fuel, Glaikmore, Inverness – £23,750;
• Highland Wood Energy Ltd (HWE) – HWE ESCO 1, Highland – £100,000;
• Highland Wood Energy Ltd (HWE) – HWE ESCO 2, Highland – £51,575;
• Oil Technics Ltd – Oil Technics 2010 Extension Build, Gourdon, Aberdeenshire – £18,537;
• R & R Construction – Barochan Estate District Heating Scheme, Houston, Renfrewshire – £100,000.

Total – £1,113,328

The Scottish Biomass Heat Scheme

This is a Scotland-wide scheme, with funding of £3.3 million to be distributed to appropriate projects over 2 years, from April 2009 to March 2011.

The Scheme is managed in partnership between Scottish Government and Forestry Commission Scotland and is targeted at businesses, specifically small and medium sized enterprises.

It also encourages the development of district heating demonstrators from private developers.

The maximum grant available is £100,000, although additional support for district heating projects may be considered on a case-by-case basis. This has clearly been the case in a number of the awards listed above, although, on the face of it, the £182,473 given to John Gordon and Son Ltd for a Biomass Boiler for a Sawmill in Nairn, seems anomalous.

We have asked for information on his and will publish it when we get it.