Business owners visiting the Greener Homes and Buildings Show at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells on 4-6 June can learn how to access funding for renewable energy from Forestry Commission Wales.
Staff from the Forestry Commission Wales’s EU-funded Wood Energy Business Scheme (WEBS) are attending the show to promote the grants the scheme offers for woodfuelled heating systems, small-scale electricity generation and woodfuel supply.
The scheme gives owners of eligible small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and community groups assistance with the technologies that use wood to provide renewable heating and generate electricity.
Penpont, a 2000 acre working rural estate in Powys, is just one of the many businesses in Wales that has converted to a biomass heating system thanks to a WEBS grant.
The state of the art biomass system at this listed house and tourist accommodation complex supplies full central heating and hot water for guests.
Owner Gavin Hogg said, “Woodfuel is the natural choice for a country estate as we can take advantage of an onsite resource to heat our premises.
“Penpont’s woodland is now being managed to provide a year round supply of wood chip, providing heat and hot water for the family and guests.”
The WEBS scheme offset the cost of Penpont’s chipping equipment as well as the capital cost of the boiler and system itself.
Mike Pitcher, WEBS Manager, Forestry Commission Wales said, “Modern woodfuel heating is a clean, convenient and sustainable form of renewable energy.
“By creating demand for wood locally, Forestry Commission Wales can encourage more woodland owners to bring their woodlands into management.
“Better managed woodlands offer higher financial returns to their owners as well as improving habitats for wildlife and offering opportunities for recreation.”
Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Assembly Government, WEBS will support up to 41% of the cost of such carbon-reducing initiatives, with a total of £7.8 million available to SMEs in Wales.
For details of the WEBS scheme, please visit www.forestry.gov.uk/woodenergywales or call 0300 068 0042.
