Future of farming appears to be ‘brites’

Chicken farmer Gareth Murray from Aghalee, Co. Antrim, is one of an
increasing number of farmers across Northern Ireland who has made
considerable savings for his farm by switching to a sustainable wood
pellet fuel and qualifying for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).� I
am saving almost 60% over the cost of traditional fossil fuel for my
farm, said Gareth.� The promise of a reduced fuel overhead combined
with a lower carbon footprint and payments received from the RHI
convinced me that brites were the best choice for my farm, and we
havent looked back since switching. After qualifying for the RHI,
chicken farmers can expect to save up to �20,000 per chicken house
annually.

Many innovative poultry farmers across Northern Ireland are
cutting their annual fuel costs by up to £20,000 per poultry house –
simply by making the switch to biomass-fuelled heating systems.

The forward-thinking firms are proving the value of
turning green ambitions into on-farm realities, saving money and
reducing their carbon footprint by tapping into the Renewable Heat
Incentive (RHI), which offers hard-pressed farm businesses the chance to
benefit from zero cost heat for the next 20 years.

“Although many
farmers in Northern Ireland have thought ahead by switching to
sustainable biomass fuels, many farms, rural businesses and communities
continue to remain over-dependent on fossil fuel and struggle to cope
with sudden increases in fuel costs,” said Paula Keelagher, brites Market Development Manager, Ireland. “Our government is tasked with achieving a target
where 12% of all heating comes from renewable sources by 2020. To assist
in achieving this, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
(DETI) launched the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in 2011, the world’s
first long-term financial support programme for renewable heat that
provides payments to commercial users.”

Farmers raising diverse
crops and livestock have seen the benefits of switching to premium
quality wood pellet fuels like brites to take advantage of the RHI, with
farm businesses focusing in dairy, horticulture, mushroom, poultry, and
pigs all praising the benefits of converting to wood fuelled biomass.

One
County Tyrone based poultry farmer converted two of his chicken houses
to a biomass-fuelled heating system running on Balcas brites wood
pellets. Including his Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments, the
farmer was able to save over £23,000 in seven months compared to
previous years using LPG. He expects his costs to have been reduced by
around £40,000 in a full year.

When used in conjunction with a biomass boiler,
with outputs of up to 99kW in Northern Ireland the RHI provides
commercial organisations, including farms, with 20 years of
government-funded payments for the production of renewable heat for
their buildings. These payments are a huge incentive to farmers
considering switching to fuels of the future, especially as the cost of
traditional fossil fuels continue to be volatile and can at times
prohibit the profitability of some farm operations.

Biomass
systems fuelled by brites have been used for indirect heating through
hot water pipes to encourage growing in glass house nurseries, heating
hot water to sanitise milking equipment, space heating for animal
housing and growing facilities. The systems can also be used for
indirect heating of mats for pigs, while mushroom farmers have reaped
the benefits of brites by using steam to clear out mushroom growing
houses between crops.

The brites team guide farmers every step of the way, from planning their biomass installation to finding a recommended boiler installer and securing twenty years’ fuel supply with brites.

Manufactured
in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland and Invergordon, Scotland by Balcas,
brites premium quality wood pellets are EN plus accredited and offer a
genuine security of supply, meaning that customers who secure their fuel
with Balcas are guaranteed their supply of brites for the full twenty
years of the RHI.

For more information on how the Renewable
Heat Incentive (RHI) in Northern Ireland can benefit your farm contact
the brites team at rhi@brites.eu.