Increased funding for renewable technologies helps ease NVZ woes (double ROCS available)

With the expansion of the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) enforced on 1 January 2009, pressure on the livestock industry to comply with the new rules could provide profitable opportunities.

With many livestock farmers contemplating the viability of their enterprise, the expansion of the NVZ area from 55 per cent to 70 per cent of land in England under the government’s new Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) has come as unwelcome news. All farms in NVZs must provide five to six months slurry storage by 1 January 2012, requiring large capital investments.

Where there’s muck there’s money!

The UK government has sought to address the imbalance of renewable energy generation technologies in use and promote new technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD). It has done this by announcing the doubling of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) allocated per MWhr of electricity produced from certain renewable energy technology sources including anaerobic digestion as of April 2009.

With ROCs trading at around £40-45/MWhr, the re-banding of technologies has effectively doubled the value of anaerobic digestion generated ROCs increasing the financial viability of an already viable source of income and a sustainable slurry storage solution which aids in the compliance with the new NVZ rules.

Funding

There are a number of sources of funding for electricity generation projects including:

-The anaerobic digestion demonstration fund run by the Carbon Trust

-Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme

-Low Carbon buildings programme for micro generation

-Bio-energy Capital Grants, open until 30 April 2009 providing up to 40 per cent grant in cost difference to a maximum of £500,000.

Hywel Morse from Fisher German LLP comments, "we can advise farmers on the options available to them and help secure funding" For those interested in finding out more, contact Hywel on 01295 226 298 or email hywel.morse@fishergerman.co.uk.