Biomass boilers: a potential £19,644 annual income stream for farms
Because the unit cost of biomass fuel is considerably less than oil, electricity or gas, a wood fuelled boiler will significantly reduce your farm’s heating bills. But the interesting part is how much you can earn…
The commercial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) means farmers and growers can earn money for every unit of heat generated by their biomass system. Take a look at some examples…
Small farm installation (50kw)
Replacing the oil boiler in a 200sqm farmhouse, pack house, barn and farm office complex with a 50kw biomass boiler.
| Initial investment | £30,000 |
| Annual fuel saving | £2,628 |
| Annual government RHI payments | £4,993 |
| Total income inc. savings per year | £7,621 |
| Total income over 20-year RHI lifetime | £152,420 |
| System pays for itself in... | 3.9 years |
Medium-sized farm installation (70kw)
Replacing the oil boiler in a large farmhouse, second house, farm office and crop drying & pack house complex with a 70kw biomass boiler.
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| Initial investment | £40,000 |
| Annual fuel saving | £3,400 |
| Annual government RHI payments | £6,990 |
| Total income inc. savings per year | £10,577 |
| Total income over 20-year RHI lifetime | £207,809 |
| System pays for itself in... | 3.8 years |
Large farm installation (130kw)
Replacing the oil boiler in a large farm house, with 2-3 cottages, farm office and crop drying & pack house or heated livestock requirements.
| Initial investment | £55,000 |
| Annual fuel saving | £6,662 |
| Annual government RHI payments | £12,982 |
| Total income inc. savings per year | £19,644 |
| Total income over 20-year RHI lifetime | £392,886 |
| System pays for itself in... | 2.7 years |
Calculations are based on the RHI tariff set in October 2014, running for 1,314 heating hours with oil priced at 6.9p per litre. As oil is forecast to increase in cost, we’d expect savings to be greater than predicated.
Further reading…
- Everything you need to know about the commercial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
- Preparing Hawton Farm for a 6-figure income stream
- How a district heating system for College Farm earns £10k+ a year
- Improving an inefficient bale burning biomass set up for a farm in Nottinghamshire
- Bale, pellet or multi-fuel? The different types of biomass boiler explained…
Get in touch for a free, no-obligation assessment
To find out more about how a biomass boiler heating system could benefit your farm, please call us now on 0115 952 0263 or 07890 022002 or complete our contact form, and one of our renewable energy experts will be in touch to arrange a site visit.