FARM NEWS
FUEL FOR THOUGHT
According to NFU Mutual’s rural
crime survey 2014, rural theft cost
an estimated £44.5m in the UK
during 2013, up 5.2 percent from the
previous year. Among the items most
commonly targeted by criminals in the
past 12 months was fuel, including
heating oil, which came third in the
list behind quad bikes and tools.
If targeted by criminals, heating oil
tanks could potentially leave victims
thousands of pounds out of pocket.
With this in mind, Keith Higginson,
Commercial Marketing Manager
for Calor Gas (Calor), explains why
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is the
smarter off-grid fuel choice in terms
of security, minimising pollution
risks, and cost savings.
Fuel security
For farms in off-grid areas, LPG can be
viewed as the rural equivalent of natural
gas - providing a clean, low carbon and
versatile energy source. LPG can be used
in a number of farming applications such
as heating poultry sheds or greenhouses,
drying crops or burning weeds. It can also
be used to power on-site incinerators for
a simple, safe and compliant disposal
solution for animal waste.
One of the main advantages in selecting
LPG over alternatives such as oil is that
of fuel security. The financial implications
of oil theft are far more than just the cost
of replacing the fuel alone. If the tank is
damaged and needs to be replaced or
there is an oil spillage and environmental
clean-up costs are incurred, the financial
consequences can be significant, often
totalling thousands of pounds.
According to the UK Environment
Agency, on average an oil spill costs a
typical business up to £30,000 in fines,
clean up charges and production losses.
The damage to the environment of an
oil leak or spillage is of course potentially
very serious. According to OFTEC in its
document ‘Get to know your oil tank’:
6
Oct/Nov 2014 FarmersMart
“Every year, leaks and spills from oil
storage tanks and pipework cause many
pollution incidents. Spilt oil can pollute
streams, rivers and (if it soaks through
the soil and rock) groundwater supplies.
In the UK, public water supplies come
from rivers and groundwater so we must
protect them from pollution. Oil is toxic
and harmful to plants and animals, and is a
threat Ѽ