April 25, 2003—The environment and rural British communities received a boost on April 3 as British Energy Minister Brian Wilson announced a grant package of over 18m to help build five green power plants in England. The funding has been released from the Government’s Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme, an essential component in establishing power generation plants fueled by energy crops, wood, and agricultural by-products.
Projects in Staffordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire, and Devon will receive a total of 18.74m to help build biomass power plants that will produce enough heat and electricity to meet the needs of over 90,000 homes–equivalent to a city the size of Southampton.
The plants will be fueled by energy crops or forestry residues, which are carbon neutral, and will save on thousands of tons of carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel alternatives. In addition, they bring job opportunities, job security, and economic benefits to the rural communities in which they are based.
Mr. Wilson said, “Local businesses, the community, and the environment all reap the rewards [of renewable energy]. Bioenergy is especially beneficial to the rural economy. In the recent Energy White Paper we made the commitment to supply 10% of our electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2010, as well as a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. We have supported these commitments with action; a further 60m has been made available to the renewable energy sector, bringing our total funding to nearly 350m over four years.”
Mr. Wilson had earlier announced grants worth over 7m for biomass projects in Scotland and Northern Ireland. For more information, including the specific projects to receive funding, visit the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
