A SCOTTISH MP has highlighted a sustainable example of biomass production in his constituency that makes use of trees grown within 40 miles of the factory.
The SNP MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, Allan Dorans said the Land Energy site at Girvan that uses trees from the Galloway Forest is an example of how to create a sustainable site as Scotland moves away from fossil fuels for energy and heat generation.
The site in the south-west of Scotland produces wood pellets that are used for heating in commercial settings such as leisure, in agricultural businesses throughout the UK and also for home use in wood pellet boilers and stoves.
The energy generated for the plant is done through a biomass combined heat and power system meaning there are no fossil fuels used in the production of the wood pellets.
The company also plants half a million trees every year to ensure that its wood resources are sustainable.
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Having grown up in the local area and being the son of a former coal miner, Dorans (below) highlighted the need for energy generation to become more sustainable in all settings.
Dorans said: "Land Energy’s wood pellet production plant, in Girvan, in my constituency, is one of the best positioned in the world because it sits on the immediate edge of the largest forested area in the UK – the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire biosphere. This means that the wood used to manufacture the wood pellets burned in homes and businesses travels less than 56 kilometres (35 miles) from sustainable and responsibly managed sources.
"As the son of a coal miner from the village of Dailly, only four miles from the plant and the forest, I am immensely proud to see this activity in the place I think of as home. The plant also employs 48 staff in an area of high employment."
Dorrans says that the site is important in showing how Scotland can do things differently as the country looks to move towards net-zero carbon emissions.
He added: "This plant makes an important contribution to the Scottish Government’s updated Climate Change Plan 2018-2032 as we emerge from the pandemic with a ‘green recovery’ and a transition to net-zero."
The Scottish Government has an ambitious target of becoming a net-zero country by 2045, which includes changes to the way homes and businesses are heated.
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It is hoped that by 2030 around half of all Scottish homes and non-domestic buildings will be converted to a low or zero-carbon heating system. By 2024, all new build homes in Scotland will have to include a zero-emissions system and the Government is working to see if these plans can be brought forward.
Biomass boilers are one example of a low-carbon heating system that performs similar to a traditional gas or oil boiler but with lower carbon emissions and are also less expensive than electric combi boilers.
Other examples include heat pumps which provide heating and cooling by transferring heat to or from a source outside of the building either through the air, heat in the ground or through a water source.
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