Diversification: Woodlands & Renewables (Stranraer) – event summary

Have you wondered about diversifying into woodlands or renewables?

Over twenty farmers attended this interesting meeting covering woodlands and renewable energy as diversification options.

Stephen Adlard, SAC Consulting, started off by talking about woodlands highlighting the specific funding opportunities and demonstrating the costings associated with woodlands. He also highlighted the potential tax benefits associated with woodlands.
Jim Campbell, SAC Consulting, then gave a presentation on renewable energy on farm and the benefit of saving on energy bills by generating your own power. A copy of his presentation can be viewed here.  Jim highlighted that the funding that was previously available is now diminishing but with increasing energy costs, certain sites still have a potential to generate income through savings on energy costs. He also highlighted the potential to save and store power in batteries.

Renewable Energy – Key Points

• Reductions in incentive payments mean that the value of energy from new projects has a higher importance than incentives.
• Take a close look at your energy costs and see what reductions are possible.
• Be aware of what renewable resources you have at your disposal even if development at the present time does not appear viable. These resources may have a greater value in the future.
• Renewable sites with a good resource that can be developed at reasonable cost can still provide a decent return particularly where energy produced is used on-site to offset imported energy.
• The advent of smart grids will present opportunities for new business models incorporating energy storage and demand management.

Further details on Renewable Energy Projects can be found in the ‘Farm Scale Renewables‘ booklet which was launched in April.