This November, our good friends at Bio Global Industries (BGI), suppliers of the only true multi-fuel biomass boiler in the UK, have passed on some fantastic news about a breakthrough for the use of miscanthus pellets in their Biokompakt® biomass boiler.
The company are pleased to announce that they have had approval on their 130KW boiler to receive the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for burning miscanthus pellets.
New biomass boiler installations, post 2013, have not qualified for RHI payments due to the regulation changes. Boilers installed before this date can receive payments, but those installed after 2013 have not been eligible for claiming – until now.
“Technically, anyone can burn miscanthus pellets, but if you want to claim the RHI, you have to meet certain specifications on your emissions certificate, says Matthew Hunt, Managing Director of BGI.
“To claim government RHI, you have to achieve below 30 particles per matter, which is the accepted measure of emissions, and essentially the amount of dust leaving the flume. Miscanthus pellets achieved 6.9 particles per matter. This is significantly lower than the limit, revealing the fuel to be very clean, and therefore producing a lot less pollution than alternatives.
The boiler also qualifies under the limit for NOx measurement, which must be below 150 g/GJ net heat input.
According to Matthew, he’s been looking into non-woody fuels for a long time, from horse manure, to grass, and even coffee waste, but miscanthus is the bio-fuel he’s been confident in.
“Miscanthus is growing on around 8,000 hectares of farm land across the UK, and with Terravesta’s business model, it offers a very sustainable and long term source of energy.
“I’m excited because it offers farmers a closed-loop system. If growers plant up at least 10 hectares of marginal land with the crop, sell the bales to Terravesta, and buy back the pellets for use in a boiler on site, it offers security against rising energy prices,” he says.
“We know the price of oil is low at the moment, but it will rise, along with the inflated prices of LPG and electricity.
“Under contract with Terravetsa, farmers can be self-sustaining for 10 years plus, because the company offers 10-year, index linked contracts for the supply of miscanthus.
“There’s a very good business case for working with Terravetsa, and I’ve made the decision to plant up 10 hectares of land with miscanthus, for the first time next spring, under contract with the company,” adds Matthew.
For more information on eligibility for the non-domestic RHI visit the Ofgem website.
