Partner Article

Grant given to strengthen biomass potential

A rural North East company is warming itself for success as the Government seeks to invest in alternative energy in the region.

One North East’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) has awarded over £17,000 to Rowland Webster’s Unthank Estate in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, where it is set to increase its business capacity and provide immediate carbon and cost savings for businesses.

Jennifer Hewitson, Biomass Project Officer, of Rural Development Initiatives Ltd, said: “The high level of interest we had for the latest round of funding is evidence of the growth in the biomass sector in North East England.

“This project will contribute to improving supply chains which will allow the industry to continue picking up momentum, making sure that current and future demand for biomass products can be met by local businesses.”

The government sees the use of biomass –solid plant or animal material – to generate heat and electricity as a cost effective energy source to power UK businesses.

Although the biomass sector is small in the North East, it is growing and government forecasts predict it has the potential to be contributing more than £75m a year to the regional economy by 2015.

This new project is investing in facilities and systems for harvesting, distributing and training of staff as well as being seen as a positive way to support small businesses with limited resources.

One North East’s RDPE Manager, Adrian Sherwood, said: “The biomass sector is growing but in order to meet demand as it increases we need to strengthen our business supply chains.

“We need to continue working with rural businesses to ensure they have access to finance to enable them to grow and in turn help the region continue to strive towards government targets.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .