Lumicity and Bernard Matthews team up in biomass roll out

Bernard Matthews near Beccles in Suffolk

Lumicity and Bernard Matthews, Britain’s number one turkey producer, have announced the UK’s largest biomass roll out project, with 179 biomass boilers due to be installed across 21 of Bernard Matthews’ turkey farms in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire. The project highlights the growing demand for biomass within the poultry industry as companies seek to cut energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As well as reducing emissions, the project will allow Bernard Matthews to achieve fuel savings against their current costs. The dry heat biomass systems produce a number of other benefits due to the improved circulation of heat, including reduced in-house ammonia levels, reduced ventilation requirements, and increased litter quality. The project will also create c.51 jobs, including nine full time permanent positions.

Bernard Matthews was previously using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a fuel. The biomass heating systems will lead to significant savings, both in fuel costs and CO2 emissions. The systems will initially be powered by wood chip, but from 2015, new EU regulations mean that poultry litter can also be used as fuel.

The project is managed by Lumicity, a leading specialist in developing renewable energy solutions. They have identified the sites, designed the project, advised Bernard Matthews throughout the process of tendering and negotiating, and sourced the funding. The company will continue to manage the project for the next 20 years.

Lumicity secured £24.5 million (€30.69 mln) of funding for the project from the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) via its Energy Saving Investments (ESI) fund. GIB is the cornerstone investor in the Equitix managed ESI fund, which is investing £12mln (€15.03 mln) in the project. This mobilises an additional £12.5mln (€15.66 mln) of additional private sector capital, from the Equitix Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF).