With the expansion of the Nitrate Vulnerable Zones enforced on 1 January 2009, pressure on the livestock industry to comply with the new rules could provide profitable opportunities.
With many livestock farmers contemplating the viability of their enterprise, the expansion of the NVZ area from 55% to 70% of land in England under the government’s new Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) has come as unwelcome news. All farms in NVZs must provide 5-6 months slurry storage by 1 January 2012, requiring large capital investments.
The UK government has sought to address the imbalance of renewable energy generation technologies in use and promote new technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD). It has done this by announcing the doubling of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) allocated per MWhr of electricity produced from certain renewable energy technology sources including AD as of April 2009.
With ROCs trading at around £40-45/MWhr, the re-banding of technologies has effectively doubled the value of AD generated ROCs increasing the financial viability of an already viable source of income and a sustainable slurry storage solution which aids in the compliance with the new NVZ rules.
There are a number of sources of funding for electricity generation projects including:
For further information contact Hywel Morse on 01295 226 298 or email hywel.morse@fishergerman.co.uk
