NFU Scotland renewable energy event at Skelmonae Windfarm attended by 120 local farmers
Date : 8 July 2010
No : 104/10
Contact : Wendy Fleming
Telephone : 0131 472 4020
Email : wendy.fleming@nfus.org.uk
Renewables event hailed as great success
North East farmers turned out in droves to the NFU Scotland renewable energy event, confirming that interest in on-farm energy generation has reached new levels.
The event, staged jointly by the Turriff and New Deer branches of the Union on 6th July 2010, attracted 120 farmers, all showing their enthusiasm for learning more about the potential benefits of using renewables to enhance their farm businesses.
The event focussed on local renewable suppliers and helped to showcase to farmers what products they have on offer. Exhibitors included Allathan Associates, Keenan Green Recycling and Kalvas Biomass Boilers. The highlight of the evening for many was being given a tour of the wind turbines at Skelmonae Windfarm, near Methlick.
NFUS Vice-President, Nigel Miller, who spoke at the event said:
“It really was a fantastic event, quite ground-breaking really, and one which I believe everyone got a lot out of. It allowed us all to look through the window to the challenges of moving into renewables, but also to the opportunities available for farmers as a result.
“The centrepiece of the evening was undoubtedly getting to see the wind turbines at Skelmonae up close. While the process of installing these can be a significant planning exercise, and significant investment, it can be something that feeds money into the local community as well as into farmers’ own farm businesses.
“There are certainly opportunities to be grasped, particularly with the feed-in tariffs that are currently available, and while this event showcased a farm business that now has significant power generation capacity, there are smaller wind turbine options that can be attractive to farmers too.
“Renewable options are something that many farmers are looking at as a potentially viable choice on-farm and events such as this are exactly what we need, to provide the catalyst to get farmers interested in the options available. As a Union we will be looking into how we can support members as they do just that.”