Crops for Energy - Services : Green Solutions

Renewable Energy – What You Can Do On Your Farm
In Feb/March 2007 Kevin Lindegaard is running 4 training events for South West farmers. The events, funded by the Farm Business Advice Service, will focus on wind energy options, biomass, anaerobic digestion, micro renewables and biodiesel.

Biogas: The energy of the future?
Q&A article about on farm anaerobic digestion (Farmers' Weekly - 2nd February 2007).

Renewable Energy on Farms
Smaller kit cuts costs - renewable energy options for farmers (Farmers' Weekly - 1st December 2006).

Biomass for Glasshouse Owners
Blazing the trail: article looking at five nursery owners using biomass to meet their heating needs (Horticulture Week - 31st August 2006).

Fast growing willow and poplars offer green solutions for many problem sites including:
- Greening up derelict and disused sites such as capped landfill sites
- Bioremediation of contaminated land i.e. ex-sewage farms
- Biofilters for water treatment
- Stabilisation of silt ponding lagoons using the Salimat technique
- Ground bioengineering; slope stablisation particularly of motorway verges
- Roadside trees tolerant to deicing salt
- Stabilisation of sand dunes
- Water bioengineering; prevention of riverbank erosion
- Forestry for thin soils lacking nutrition
- Sight screens to obstruct ugly views
- Green barriers to reduce noise pollution
- Windbreaks for nursery plants, orchards and soft fruit
- Cheap and vandal proof trees for public parks

Many of these applications have dual purposes not only providing a solution to a problem but also enabling the growth of a commercial crop of SRC or timber. Crops for Energy provide a consultancy service on green willow and poplar solutions for your problem site. To find out more about SRC in the landscape click here.