THE growing impact of renewable energy projects on farm and landowner incomes has been highlighted by new figures showing over ’1.4m was paid to the sector by independent energy company SmartestEnergy during the first year of the Feed-in Tariffs.
According to latest statistics released by Ofgem, SmartestEnergy paid out more to generators under the renewables incentive scheme than any of the major utility companies in the UK energy market.
Of the ’1.75m total paid out under FiTs by the company, the lion’s share - ’1.42m - went to projects developed by farmers and landowners including wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion schemes.
And in the first quarter of the 2011/12 financial year alone, more than ’600,000 was paid out to the sector by SmartestEnergy - suggesting the full-year figure will comfortably exceed the 2010/11 total.
"These figures confirm that a rapidly increasing number of farmers and landowners are becoming energy entrepreneurs to diversify their income streams and reduce costs," said Robert Groves, Chief Executive of SmartestEnergy which is the UK’s leading purchaser of electricity from independent generators
"We have invested heavily to ensure we have the products and service to help independent generators and these first-year figures confirm our leading position in what is an increasingly important sector in the UK’s energy mix."
SmartestEnergy’s farm and landowner FiT customers include Boston-based Staples Vegetables which recently opened an innovative anaerobic digestion plant fuelled by out-of-specification vegetables.
The facility generates electricity and heat which is used on the site with excess power sold into the grid under a Power Purchase Agreement with SmartestEnergy.
The company also buys power from Aberdeen & Northern Eggs behind the Farmlay brand - which has installed an 800kW wind turbine.
The Keltneyburn Hydro scheme in Perthshire - a 2MW run-of-river project capable of providing enough power for 1,300 homes - also began supplying SmartestEnergy during the first year of the tariffs.
As well as existing schemes, Groves said SmartestEnergy also had a record pipeline of new projects being developed by farmers and landowners.
"We are delighted to be helping so many in the sector take advantage of the exciting opportunities renewable energy offers," he said.
The first-year FiT figures show SmartestEnergy was responsible for almost 16% of the ’11.07m paid out by all licensed suppliers in the first 12 months since the tariffs were introduced in April 2010.