Sustainability Award Winner 2006
| Client | Ceredigion County Council |
| Design and Management | Highways Property and Works Department |
| Main Contractor | Flare (Wales) Ltd |
| Project Cost | £675,000.00 |
| Completion Date | November 2005 |
The Renewable Energy Facility at Penmorfa provides heating and hot water to four large buildings:
Estimated CO2 Emission Savings (2006/07) 400 tonnes
Estimated Energy Cost Savings (2006/07) £21,000 (42%)
Today’s wood boilers match the performance of conventional fossil fuel systems, are highly reliable and fully automatic. Wood is practically CO2 neutral, unlike fossil fuels, and increasingly cost effective.
Modern wood fuel systems generate virtually no smoke or other particulates and leave less than 1% of the original volume as ash. A small, wel designed building houses the Austrian made Binder 550kW boiler. It was selected for its efficiency and clean burning characteristics.
The installation can use either wood-pellet or wood-chip, delivered into a specially designed fuel store. The boiler currently uses locally sourced wood-chip. A 300mm diameter, auger driven fuel-feeding system takes the wood-chip from the fuel store to the boiler. The 120m3 fuel store is topped-up about once a week in winter and every two to three weeks in summer.
Wood fuel heating systems are particularly suitable for buildings where there is a continuous need for heat or hot water, such as care homes, leisure centres, swimming pools, etc. However the flexibility of the latest wood burning systems means that they are also suitable for use with offices and manufacturing units. Ceredigion has a plentiful supply of sustainably grown wood. Fuel can therefore be secured locally, creating jobs and adding further value to the Region’s economy.
The project was provided with substantial grant funding from the Wood Energy Business Scheme (WEBS) and the Energy Saving Trust through the Community Energy Programme.
