BioRegional Development Group, UK, Wood-chip from waste

The BioRegional Development Group has established a 'TreeStation' -- a centre where waste wood is received from many sources, turned into wood-chip and delivered for use as a heating fuel. Until recently, their site capacity was about 2,500 tonnes per year, but a new chipper has increased this to 15,000 tonnes per year.

Legislation in the London Borough of Croydon and other boroughs requires all significant new building developments to generate 10% of their energy from on-site renewable sources. Biomass heating is one of the most cost-effective ways to do this, but requires a reliable supply of fuel. The London boroughs do have a considerable resource of fuelwood from the management of parks, gardens and woodland, but much of the waste produced is currently sent to landfill, at a cost of about £40 per tonne.

The BioRegional Development Group brokered an innovative deal between tree surgery business, City Suburban Tree Surgeons Ltd, and Croydon Council to manage and dispose of all the Council's wood waste. BioRegional established a TreeStation -- a centre where waste wood is received from many sources, turned into wood-chip and delivered for use as a fuel for heating and combined heat-and-power. Until recently, the TreeStation had produced about 2,500 tonnes of wood-chip per year for a single customer, Slough Heat and Power, who supply heat and electricity to Slough Estates and use an increasing amount of wood in their fuel supply. With recent equipment, the TreeStation now has the capacity to process 15,000 tonnes per year. BioRegional is also setting up drying facilities so that the wood-chip will have lower moisture content, and so be suitable for a wide range of boilers.