Opportunity for farms to apply for up to 25,000
Farms in Yorkshire and Humber have the opportunity to apply for up to 25,000 towards the purchase of more efficient equipment, it was announced this week.
The funding can be put towards purchasing more efficient equipment, which will help farms to reduce costs and carbon emissions by using less energy, water or raw materials, such as fertiliser. The equipment they can purchase includes voltage optimisation units, rain water harvesting systems, heat capture units, heat exchangers, slurry separators and slurry application kit.
In the last round of funding, 13 farms benefitted from funding for new equipment, and will together save around 80,500 each year, and around 300 tonnes of CO2. David Cawood from Styring House Farm, a poultry farm near York, received 25,000 to purchase a heat exchanger. David said, The new heat exchanger will make a real difference in our energy bills we hope to save around 16,570 /year. Without this funding, we would not have been able to invest in this new installation, and the technical help from CO2Sense has been great in helping us apply and get the right equipment for our farm.
Farms apply through CO2Sense, the not-for-profit low carbon expert company. The funding comes from the Rural Development Programme for England under the Farm Resource Efficiency Programme (FREP) scheme, jointly funded by Defra and the European Union. So far, this funding has helped farmers in Yorkshire and Humber save around 230,000 in energy, fertiliser and raw material costs.
Vicky Wren, Consultant at CO2Sense, said, We want to finance as many projects as possible to help reduce costs for farms across Yorkshire and Humber. With nine different technologies we can fund, there are opportunities to make some significant savings.
The deadline for this last chance for funding is 3rd October 2011. Those interested should visit www.co2sense.co.uk/frep or contact Vicky Wren on vicky.wren@co2sense.co.uk or 0113 237 8461.
CO2Sense is the not-for-profit low-carbon expert company that helps organisations to cut their costs and to improve their environmental performance.
We help organisations to find real cost savings by developing low-carbon strategies, which give no-nonsense, clear direction to reduce energy and water use, to produce less waste and to use fewer raw materials.
We help organisations to generate both free energy and an income by developing renewable electricity and heating installations. Because were not trying to sell a particular type of renewable energy, we make sure that organisations install the technologies that will deliver the best possible return for their investment.
We help companies that sell environmental products to develop their business. We find new markets for their products, and we help them to get the right product accreditation to make sure that their customers can buy from them with confidence.
We can also help organisations to get capital investment to help with the costs of installing new renewable energy and other low-carbon installations.
We work with some of the UKs largest companies to develop new ways of cutting greenhouse gas emissions. For example, we are working with businesses and with government to encourage the development of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) network in Yorkshire.
CO2Sense is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward and funded by Yorkshire Forward and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
To find out more, visit www.co2sense.co.uk
The Farm Resource Efficiency Programme helps farmers to improve the overall economic performance of their holdings through the introduction of new technology to promote energy, manure and water resource efficiency.
The funding came from the Rural Development Programme for England, with support from the EU, Defra and Yorkshire forward.
Farm businesses may apply for up to 50% and 60% of eligible costs equating to grants of between 1,500 and 25,000. For more details about the funding, and the Farm Resource Efficiency Programme, visit www.co2sense.org.uk/frep for the FREP guidance notes.