COLLABORATION THE KEY TO LARGE-SCALE BIOMASS PROJECTS

摘要

Pooling resources could be the key to helping farmers get involved with larger-scale biomass energy projects. The volume of energy crops needed to fuel a biomass boiler big enough to heat a school or other large building is beyond the scale of most individual farmers. Not only are large acreages needed to keep such boilers mnning, but the capital cost of diversifying into this sector can be massive. It is not just crop volume that is needed, but processing capacity too. Even farmers worldng togetherwould be challenged to compete with the major power companies with interests in the biomass sector, so it is the local heat market that presents the ideal opportunity for farmers to get involved, says Lucy Hopwood, the National Non-Food Crops Centre's land and agricultural manager.