Biomass Heating for Farms

Why Biomass Could Be a Good Option for Farms

At Treco, we’ve had a saying for years: “There’s nothing cheaper than being cold.”
Of course, that’s not really an option when you need reliable heat for poultry sheds, soft fruit glasshouses, on-farm holiday accommodation, or grain drying. For many agricultural businesses, a biomass boiler system for farms can be a practical and sustainable alternative.

From cutting carbon to improving cost control, there are several reasons why renewable energy in agriculture is becoming more common. Here are three of the main ones.

Reducing Carbon Emissions with Biomass Boiler Systems on Farms

Many supermarket buyers are encouraging or maybe demanding that farmers reduce their ‘carbon footprint’, and using biomass to heat farms is probably the most effective option available to businesses to achieve this reduction.

Using biomass for agriculture heating is well established and exceptionally effective. Take a typical 100kW wood chip boiler as an example. This size of system could heat a large farmhouse, and several holidays lets, a single poultry shed, or handle grain drying, drying around 1,500 tonnes of grain per year (from 20% to 14% moisture content).

In each case, the current heating system might be using roughly 15,000 litres of heating oil or 22,000 litres of LPG each year. Heating oil has a carbon footprint of about 50 tonnes of CO₂ per year, LPG around 40 tonnes, while the woodchip used in a biomass boiler to heat a farm would be under 4 tonnes.

That’s a substantial reduction and one of the simplest steps farms can take towards lower-carbon heating.

Managing Farm Heating Costs with Renewable Energy

The cost of fossil fuels such as heating oil and LPG can vary widely, often influenced by global factors beyond an individual businesses control.

We find it helpful to reference figures for comparison. At an average of 75p per litre, heating oil works out at roughly 7.25p per kWh, while LPG tends to be around 10p per kWh or 70p per litre. A farm using 15,000 litres of oil each year would be spending about £11,250.00 annually on heating, or £15,000.00 on LPG.

In comparison, using purchased woodchip could reduce this to around £6,750.00 per year. If the wood is sourced on-farm, the cost could be closer to £2,000.00 with these costs mainly covering chipping and handling. Producing the same heat would take around 42 tonnes of woodchip annually.

Some farms are also running their biomass systems on cereals such as barley or oats. At roughly £180 per tonne, this can offer similar costs to purchased woodchip and adds another practical fuel option for biomass boiler systems for farms.

Switching your farm heating to biomass can offer more stable running costs, helping manage budgets more effectively year after year.

Improving Energy Security Through Renewable Energy in Agriculture

Energy price volatility has been a major concern for many rural businesses. With biomass, it’s possible to create a much more stable and self-sufficient supply.

As little as 3 hectares of short rotation coppice can produce enough fuel to supply a 100kW boiler system indefinitely. For anyone considering this route, Willow Solutions can provide specialist guidance.

Alternatively, regular hedgerow management can often provide enough wood for the year’s heating needs on livestock or mixed farms. This makes biomass boiler systems for farms a practical part of long-term agricultural heating strategies.