Who will I contract with?
Greenergy is working locally with farmers through Coppice Resources Ltd and your contract for supplying SRC
for Wilton 10 will be signed with Barbara Hilton, Energy Crops Development Manager, acting on behalf of Greenergy. Barbara Hilton can be contacted
on 01904 624948, email barbara.hilton@coppiceresources.co.uk.
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Who will advise me on growing SRC?
Coppice Resources will answer any questions you may have on growing SRC and will
also establish local producer groups to co-ordinate the provision
of equipment for harvesting as well as haulage arrangements to transport
the harvested coppice to Wilton 10.
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Can I grow Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) on set-aside land?
Yes. SRC can be grown on set-aside land because it is a non-food
crop.
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Can I grow SRC on non set-aside land?
Yes. SRC can be grown on non set-aside land on the condition that:
- the crop is used in an energy market. The Greenergy contract will provide the evidence you need to demonstrate an
energy end-use; and
- the Energy Aid Payment is applied for (see below).
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Will I be eligible for the Energy Aid Payment?
Yes, you will be eligible for the Energy Aid Payment only if the
SRC is grown on non set-aside land.
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Will my land be eligible for the Single Farm Payment?
Yes, the land used to grow SRC will be eligible for the Energy Aid
Payment provided either:
- the crop is grown on set-aside land; or
- the crop is grown on non set-aside land and the Energy Aid Payment
is applied for.
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What is the value of the Energy Aid Payment?
The maximum value of the energy aid payment is €45 per hectare,
but the amount actually paid to farmers may vary according to the
volume of applications for energy aid made across Europe. If applications
exceed 1.5 million hectares across Europe as a whole, the amount
of money paid per hectare will be reduced proportionally.
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How does this Energy Aid Payment work?
Energy aid applications for SRC are made on a per contract basis. Each application
must be accompanied by a €60/ hectare bond, which is repaid
either at the end of the contract or if and when the grower pulls out of the contract.
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Do I have to apply for Energy Aid Payment and if so why?
You will have to apply for the Energy Aid Payment only if the SRC
is grown on non set-aside land. This is in order to prove that the
SRC will not be finding its way into other markets such as paper
pulp.
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What is the establishment grant?
Under the recent Energy Crops Scheme (ECS), Defra made available a one-off Establishment Grant payment of £1,000/ha. Applications to this scheme closed on 31st July 2006. The ECS is currently under review and we hope to have details of the new scheme and level of grant available from Defra by the end of 2006.
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What other costs are there for me in growing the crop?
There are three main areas.
- Planting and establishment in the first year. Efficient land preparation is essential prior to planting particularly the control of invasive perennial weeds and the removal of any compaction that may be present. SRC is a long-term perennial crop so ensuring the land is prepared well will lead to reduced costs due to less weed control required within the growing crop plus higher yields at harvest. An Establishment Grant should be available from Defra (see above) to cover some of these costs.
- Like all crops, SRC has both insect pests and fungal disease (rust). The former can be controlled using appropriate insecticides but the crop needs to be closely monitored to maximise control and minimise costs. Rust is controlled by planting a mix of willow varieties bred specifically for use as an energy crop. Amongst other benefits, these have been bred for resistance to or tolerance of rust.
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What varieties are planted?
Normally a minimum of five or six varieties are planted together
to help protect the crop from attack from pests and disease. The
varieties are chosen to provide a balance of yield and disease resistance.
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How many cuttings are planted per hectare?
Normally 15,000 per hectare.
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What is the yield?
SRC is harvested "wet" but priced "oven-dried"
- i.e. after all moisture has been removed.
For example, the "wet" yield for SRC at 20 tonnes per hectare
with 50% moisture, would give an "oven-dried" yield of approximately
10 tonnes per hectare per year.
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When will my first harvest be?
Until recently the crop has normally been cut back after the first
year to encourage the plant to coppice and then harvested three
years later. Newer varieties are showing good growth habits without
cutback and can have an economic yield after two years growth, so
it is possible that some crops may be harvestable every two years.
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What price can I expect?
The price that will be paid to the farmer will be around £40 per
oven-dried tonne (odt) delivered to Wilton depending on the moisture content. Assuming costs of £10
per tonne harvesting and £10 per tonne haulage, the SRC crops
could have an ex farm value of £20 per tonne or £200
per hectare assuming a yield of 10 oven dry tonnes per hectare. As
input costs are minimal, the crop shows an attractive return.
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What is to stop the price collapsing once I have planted the
crop?
The price paid to the farmer will be fixed at £45 per odt
delivered Wilton for all SRC harvested up to and including the 2010-2011
harvest. Thereafter the price will rise from £45/odt tonne
in line with inflation, with the annual increase linked to the retail
price index.
Greenergy has a 10 year contract to supply SembCorp.
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Who will harvest the crop?
Coppice Resources will harvest the crop using a direct-chip harvester. Growers will be asked to store the wood chip ideally on hard-standing or free-draining land to allow natural air drying to occur to reduce the moisture content to 35% or below. Coppice Resources have an efficient storage design for heaps of wood chip which encourages this process.
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If new varieties are getting better why should I not wait for
new varieties before I plant?
The amount of SRC we need to supply Wilton 10 is 30,000 oven-dried
tonnes grown on approximately 3,000 hectares. These contracts will
be allocated on a first come first served basis. Once this volume
is contracted we will have no further requirements for SRC for Wilton
10, although there may be opportunities to supply other projects
in the future.
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