Cornwall’s Duchy College is using its own private patch of Miscanthus to heat two of its teaching blocks.
The rapid growth, low mineral content and high biomass yield of Miscanthus make it a favourite choice as a biofuel. The resulting CO2 emissions are equal to the amount of CO2 that the plant used up from the atmosphere during its growing. It is cut and dried, then turfed into a specially-adapted boiler at their Rosewarne site.
“Other uses for it include equine bedding, and manufacturing paper or chipboard,” said Paul Harris, farm manager for the scheme. “But we’re not within easy range of a chipboard factory.
“We use miscanthus because it’s fairly hardy, but we can also use linseed straw or bean straw.”
At the moment, the project is translating into strong cost savings. If the price of oil dips below 20p a litre, however, the College estimates that the project then becomes uneconomical. No danger of that at present: the price of heating oil stands at 34p per litre. The project spans some 45 acres, and counts as part of their ‘set aside’ under the SFP.
