The Sembcorp Biomass Power Station on Teesside, which uses wood as fuel, offers farmers and landowners in Yorkshire and the north east of England the opportunity to diversify into the production of the energy crop short rotation willow coppice (SRC). The benefits include:

• Secure supply contract direct with Sembcorp
• A guaranteed market for the crop
• Full price paid to the grower for the harvested crop - no middlemen
• A price that will increase annually in line with inflation
• Risk management by diversification - the guaranteed price for SRC wood chip is not affected by the vagaries of the agricultural market
• Significant reduction in pesticide, herbicide and fertiliser use compared to conventional cropping
• Increased biodiversity within the agricultural landscape including increased cover for game

SRC is a crop that can be grown successfully on marginal and reclaimed land; it will also withstand flooding so can be grown on land which may nowadays suffer from regular or unpredictable flooding where conventional crops are being lost. It is also suitable for areas of land away from the main holding; once established there is little or no need for machinery use except at harvest which occurs once every two or three years.

SPS payments remain unaffected by growing SRC.

A list of contractors who have experience of and machinery for planting and harvesting SRC is available from Sembcorp.

Sembcorp Grower's Contract

A contract is available for SRC growers direct with Sembcorp which ensures the grower receives the full payment per oven dry tonne for the wood chip produced. The contract can be from five to ten year’s duration (bearing in mind the 5-year caveat associated with the Establishment Grant).

Establishment Grant

An SRC Establishment Grant is available through Natural England which will provide 40% of the actual costs associated with all approved operations carried out for the establishment of the crop. This includes all land preparation work (but not land restoration eg capping of landfill, etc), rabbit fencing if needed, herbicides, pesticides, purchase of the cuttings, planting and cutback.

There are a number of caveats associated with the grant including:

• The applicant must prove the crop is being grown for an energy end-use eg have a contract with Sembcorp
• The minimum site size is 3ha although in commercial and economic terms this is small-scale
• The crop must remain in the ground for five years from planting

Sembcorp Supplier's Copntract

A contract is also available for farmers and landowners who already have mature SRC not grown specifically for Sembcorp but who would like to supply their harvested chip as and when it is available to the power station.

For further information on growing SRC for Sembcorp please contact Barbara Hilton on 01904 624948, 07773 812246 or Barbara.Hilton@sembcorp.co.uk.