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Sheffield looks forward to a wood fuelled future

Posted: 01/12/2006

Residents in the Burngreave area of Sheffield will be kept warm as temperatures drop this winter by making use of one of the region's most sustainable resources - trees. Sheffield City Council’s innovative new installation of a high tech biomass boiler at the city’s Carwood Estate signifies an enormous achievement for the project, the community and the environment.

The new wood fuelled system will heat up to 100 properties on the estate in Burngreave. It is the first purpose built Biomass boiler room in the city and replaces two gas boilers and a prefabricated boiler room, which were in poor condition.

The boiler, housed in a sound proofed boiler room featuring a curved glass wall, burns woodchips as a sustainable, renewable energy source to produce heat and hot water for the properties. The woodchips are sourced from waste wood such as off-cuts or can also be sourced from specifically grown crops such as willow grass.

The South Yorkshire Forest Partnership secured funding of £190,000 from Yorkshire Forward to develop the South Yorkshire Wood Fuel Project. Cllr Mary Lea, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Environment, said; "This is very exciting for the future of sustainable energy sources in Sheffield and will pave the way for increased use of Biomass in various schemes across the city. The new boiler and boiler house is much more efficient and could also result in long term cost savings for residents".

Biomass fuel sources have been used safely in many other European countries for many years and significantly reduces the amount of carbon dioxide produced compared to gas boilers. Resources can also be obtained locally and offers the greatest potential for job creation of all renewable technologies.

In Sheffield it is being considered for a number of new school sites and for other housing schemes. Sheffield City Council is currently assessing feasibility on a number of sites across the city.

More information about using wood fuel to tackle climate change can
be found at www.wood-fuel.org.uk

The South Yorkshire Forest is a Community Forest covering an area of 195 square miles, including parts of Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham. The Forest Partnership is a not for profit organisation working to deliver a package of urban, economic and social regeneration. This vision will enrich the community by revitalising derelict landscapes, diversifying land use, enhancing biodiversity and providing new opportunities for recreation, employment, education and health as well as social, cultural and economic development.

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