FARM NEWS
£3m anaerobic digestion loan
fund launches for farmers
Farmers in England looking to set up small-scale
anaerobic digestion plants on their farms can now apply
for funding from a new Government-backed renewable
energy capital loan fund.
The On Farm Anaerobic Digestion Loan Fund is offering farmers
commercial loans of between £50,000 and £400,000 to help
construct anaerobic digestion (AD) plants on their land.
The £3 million fund has been launched by the Defra and is
aimed at farmers who are having trouble obtaining finance for
their capital projects from traditional lenders. AD projects must
be no larger than 250 kilowatts in size to qualify for the loans.
“The loans that are now available will encourage the anaerobic
digestion sector to grow. This will strengthen local economies by
producing local energy, cutting waste, reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and recycling valuable nutrients back into the land,”
Environment Minister Dan Rogers said.
‘Enabling this sector to grow’
AD uses micro-organisms to break down organic material,
such as food waste, livestock slurries, sewage sludge and
energy crops, to produce renewable energy and fertiliser. The
UK produces over 100 million tonnes of such organic material
‘depending on the risk and the
individual details of the project’
per year, according to the Government, and farmers can not
only benefit from the renewable energy generated, but use
biofertilisers created by the process as alternative to traditional
fertilisers to fertilise their land.
“The On Farm AD Loan fund is to help farmers convert more
of their farm waste into renewable energy and valuable fertiliser
through the process of anaerobic digestion,” Dr Liz Goodwin,
CEO WRAP, said.
“Having a small scale facility on site will help farmers to improve
their manure and slurry management and environmental controls,
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security.”
The On Farm AD Loan Fund will provide up to 50 per cent of
the capital cost of a project for a maximum loan period of seven
years. Interest rates on the loan and vary between three and 12
per cent “depending on the risk and the individual details of the
project”, according to WRAP. All applications