The Regs – How to play by the rules when planting and using biomass crops
Before you plant perennial crops or use the biomass in a combustion system you need to get your head around the legal nitty gritty. Whether it’s environmental screening, sustainability criteria, emissions thresholds or production quality protocols, there is quite a lot of red tape to navigate. Before embarking on a project, it’s essential to recognise what’s involved and understand the costs and timescales. This webinar will provide you with all the knowledge you need to stay on the right side of the regs.
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Speakers:
Caroline Ayre – Evolving Forests
Caroline is a Chartered Forester with 26 years of forestry and wood supply chain experience. Caroline started her career supporting the southwest woodland supply chain and stimulating market demand for local wood products and woodfuel. Since then she has been the England Manager for the Confederation of Forest Industries with representational and director roles at the UK and national level.
She has specialised in forestry, timber and land use policy and tree health risk and management planning. Her focus remains working with businesses to grow the homegrown timber industry through supply chain innovation and resource resilience.
Gill Alker – Amp Clean Energy
Gill has worked in Biomass and Bioenergy since 2000, after graduating with a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College. Her early career was involved in wood fuel and energy crop supply and she helped set up and run a wood fuel trading company (TV Bioenergy) and an SRC producer group (TV Bioenergy Coppice) which jointly won an Ashton Award in 2005. In 2012, she joined Anesco and helped to set up a number of wood fuel energy supply contracts (ESCos). Providing free green heating systems in return for a monthly heat payment was pioneering at the time and she was involved in early stage contract development, design, planning permission, RHI applications, installation, operation and maintenance aspects.
In 2014, Gill joined Forest Fuels Ltd which later became AMP Clean Energy. Her main role has been to provide consultancy advice to their 2000+ fuel clients on many different aspects of biomass heating. This includes advice about RHI applications, planning permission, environmental permitting, fuel quality etc. This requires an in depth understanding of the various regulations and guidance and also involves contributing to the development of that regulation, by submitting consultation responses and attending government briefings. More recently, she has been involved in helping to manage the c.200 biomass asset portfolio that are owned by AMP Clean Energy and is responsible for making sure that those systems are compliant with all the various compliance requirements.
Biomass Crops – Some Interesting Alternatives
Some biomass crops are bigger and leave a greater impression than others whilst others might be humbler but still get the job done. Eucalyptus trees can produce exceptional yields of hardwood timber when the right species is planted in the right place. There are plenty of options with numerous species that can thrive with everything the UK climate can throw at them. Reed Canary Grass is at the other end of the spectrum – this is a short term, lower yielding perennial that is cheap to establish and easy to remove making it a perfect energy crop for a tenant farmer. Our panel includes environmental farmer John Hawkins and expert silviculturalist Bryan Elliott.
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Speakers:
John Hawkins
John Hawkins – Bagber Farms – Farmer
John is a third generation tenant arable farmer in Mid Dorset. He grew up on the farm but then after a BSc in Maritime Studies was commissioned into the Royal Navy. Later he travelled extensively as a security consultant which gave him an insight into global problems issues and solutions before realising that there is no place like home. In a period of agricultural change his primary initial role on the farm was to look for ways to diversify the business to support the families involved. This led to planting a 5000 tree cherry orchard (agroforestry) and committing 10 years to adding value to his fruit. The organic knowledge and steep learning curve in horticulture then paved the way to take over as Managing Partner of the Business 6 years ago within the background of 10 years min till arable rotation. 4 years ago using support from Mid Tier CS and Wessex Water and other complementary systems he turned his whole farm into a giant experiment (a sort of shot in the dark pre policy pre ELM’s trial) to see if Regenerative Agriculture was a viable alternative to intensive production whilst still seeing if he could grow food and energy crops more sustainably. Reed Canary Grass was a catalyst for this change and initially grown on contract. It has been trialled on farm for 7 years now. Current themes include using Soil Carbon increases to maximise Nitrogen efficiency on farm especially with Perennial Crops with a Biomass.. Everything is driven by a practical observation of Science and tested rigourously to compare it to previous arable rotations within the confines of a rented farm.
Bryan Elliot
Bryan Elliott
Managing Director of Eucalyptus Renewables. Bryan has developed an innovative silviculturally based, UK company, that is focussed on delivering an expertise in developing a UK wood supply chain through growing crops of various targeted Eucalyptus species.
Eucalyptus Renewables are involved with various BEIS projects delivering establishment, and silvicultural protocols with a sole objective of creating a thriving and sustainable timber crop. The existing annual yield of Eucalyptus fibre is currently expanding with around half a million Eucalyptus trees successfully established throughout UK over the last four years. SRF Timber harvesting operations will initiate between 4 and 6 years of age thinnings, with rotation lengths between 8 and 25 years dependent upon timber objective strategy.
Emerging Markets for Biomass Crops
Perennial crops like willow, miscanthus and poplar were once simply termed energy crops. This is no longer the case. The versatility, quick growth and high yields means that these crops are now being considered for all sorts of other uses including pharmaceuticals, bio-packaging, bio-composites, fodders and forages and biochar. R&D efforts are also pushing the potential for cascading several uses for different components of the same crop – the so-called biorefinery approach. These are really exciting times for biomass. This webinar will provide the latest news on emerging markets for biomass crops.
Once registered, use the button below to join on the day.
Speakers:
William Cracroft-Eley
William Cracroft-Eley – Terravesta
William Cracroft-Eley is the Chairman of Terravesta, the UKs largest miscanthus company. He has been growing Miscanthus on his Lincolnshire farm for 20 years. The company is involved in all aspects of cultivation, management, harvesting, processing and marketing of Miscanthus. Terravesta are currently engaged in the BFI-funded Omenz project which stands for ‘Optimising Miscanthus Establishment through improved mechanisation and data capture to meet Net Zero targets’.
OMENZ will deliver improvements on the entire Miscanthus establishment process, including approaches to producing planting material, field preparation, innovative agri-tech, new planting techniques, and cutting-edge technologies to monitor establishment in the field.
J J Leahy
Prof. J J Leahy – University of Limerick
Prof J J Leahy is currently an associate professor in the Dept of Chemical Sciences at the University of Limerick where he is involved in teaching, curriculum development and research in the area of waste management and renewable energy. He currently heads a research group consisting of chemists and chemical engineers that is focused on chemical technologies for biofuels and biorefining from wastes.
Prof Leahy currently is leading the BioWILL project, an Interreg NWE funded project focusing on Integrated “Zero Waste” Biorefinery utilising all fractions of Willow feedstock for the production of high value salicylates from willow bark for medical applications, safe, food quality packaging material to replace fossil derived plastics, a feedstock in an innovative bio-energy anaerobic digestion system producing biogas and natural fertilisers.
Land preparation – starting off on the right foot
Ensuring that your land is prepared to a high standard is absolutely critical if you are to ensure long term success of your biomass crop. When you plant you are making a 20-year decision. It is important to avoid haste, and to ensure proper implementation. This could otherwise lead to poor establishment, gappy plots, lost yield and reduced income. This webinar will provide the necessary ‘need-to-know’ information on what to do when to ensure success during the establishment phase.
Speakers:
Mike Cooper
Mike Cooper – Miscanthus Nursery Ltd
Originating from a farming family, Mike spent 32 out of his 50 years of continued employment with one Agricultural merchanting company as a highly committed manager with a good understanding of commercial Agricultural and the ability to build strong relationships in the industry.
Growing perennial energy crops in support of annual food crops has interested Mike since 1984 when one of the first Miscanthus and SRC trial plots was planted in Devon and run by Jon Harvey head agronomist with the Ministry of Agriculture at Starcross Devon.
Since 2009 Mike has been running Miscanthus Nursery Ltd (MNL), growing some c2000 acres of Miscanthus and consulting on a further c3000 acres. MNL is a Grower Cooperative owned & operated by a group of Farmers who understand the importance of this crop in supporting environmental Agriculture and climate change.
Neil Watkins
Neil Watkins – Energy Crops Consultancy Limited (ECCL)
Neil Watkins is Managing Director of Energy Crops Consultancy Limited (ECCL) and an Independent Adviser on energy crops. In ECCL Neil has formed a company which can carry out all aspects of biomass production from site and variety selection, through planting, growing and harvesting carried out by an in house team and equipment as well as marketing of final product. He has over 15 years’ experience in establishing, promoting, and developing markets for energy crops working with hundreds of landowners and growers. He is a proven innovator and has actively participated in varied research projects covering all aspects of the biomass energy sector. Neil has been a member of several working groups influencing and advising government policy, and his knowledge and experience, particularly in Short Rotation Coppice production is recognised both nationally and internationally.