December 23, 2009

UK farmers to receive financial aid for energy efficacy

British farmers will get interest-free loans from the Carbon Trust to invest in energy-saving equipment and to reduce energy bills and 25,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

From February 1, 2010, British farmers will be eligible for unsecured, interest-free loans for between GBP3,000 (US$4,784.3) and GBP20,000 (US$32,000) to help them upgrade to more energy-efficient equipment. The loans are designed to pay for themselves through direct energy savings provided over one to four years, after which farmers will make direct savings on their energy costs as well as reducing their carbon footprint.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said reducing farm energy also lowers food production costs and environmental impact, both of which are of rising concern to consumers.

The loans scheme is part of the Carbon Trust's Big Business Refit - a nationwide campaign encouraging British businesses to replace old, energy intensive equipment which wastes GBP3.3 billion (US$5.26 billion) a year. The money has been made available from a GBP100 million (US$159.5 million) Carbon Trust fund ring-fenced by the Treasury from April 1, 2009 until the end of March 2011. The loans will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Energy efficiency upgrades which the Carbon Trust loans will fund include new milk cooling systems, new heating and ventilation controls in livestock farms and grain drying humidity controls used in arable farming.

Using the loans scheme, the Carbon Trust hopes to provide around 1,000 farmers with GBP12 million (US$19.1 million), interest-free, to upgrade old equipment, or purchase renewable energy technologies, which will cut emissions by 25,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.