Beith welcomes Green Loans for Farmers

2.00.00pm GMT Wed 6th Jan 2010

Berwick's Liberal Democrat MP Sir Alan Beith is encouraging local farmers to "go-green" and reduce their impact on the environment by signing up for energy efficiency loans.

From 1 February 2010 British farmers will be eligible for unsecured, interest-free loans to help them to acquire more energy efficient equipment.

The Carbon Trust expects £12 million of funding to be offered, saving farmers and growers £4 million per year in energy costs. The loans are designed to pay for themselves through direct energy savings provided over one to four years. After the loan is repaid, farmers will make direct savings on their energy costs, as well as cutting the carbon footprint of what they produce.

Sir Alan said:

"Providing farmers with green loans to improve their energy efficiency is a win-win situation, helping to reduce the industry's greenhouse emissions while at the same time saving money for farmers.

"This scheme strikes the perfect balance, by allowing farmers to meet 'green targets' without compromising their productivity or profitability."

Farmers will be able to apply for loans from February 1st 2010. If farmers would like any further information on the loans before this date, visit www.carbontrust/loans. Farmers cannot apply in advance for the loans, but if they call 01865 885846 to register their name and contact details, they can register for a call back from Carbon Trust after the loans become available.

For more information please visit: http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans

The loans scheme is part of the Carbon Trust's Big Business Refit - a nationwide campaign encouraging British businesses to replace old, energy intensive equipment which wastes £3.3 billion a year. The money has been made available from the Carbon Trust's existing loans fund, which was bolstered by further funding from the Treasury in the 2009 Budget. The loans will be available on a first come, first served basis.

Examples of energy efficiency upgrades which the Carbon Trust loans will fund are:

Thermal screens, used in greenhouse horticulture, typically cost up to £20,000, and can save over £10,000 / 100 tonnes of CO2 annually

Milk cooling accounts for one third of the energy consumption of dairy farms. New systems cost £3,000, and save up to £1,000 / 6 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Insulation • used in field horticulture crop stores, typically costs around £17,000, and saves up to £10,000 / 50 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Upgrading heating and ventilation controls, in livestock farms, typically costs £3,000, and saves over £4,000 / 23 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Grain drying humidity controls, used in arable farming, typically costs £3,000, and saves around £1,500 / 10 tonnes of CO2 a year.

This is an extension of the small and medium business loan scheme as expanded by Budget 2009 and supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The minimum loan size available is £3,000, and the maximum size, for the farming sector is £20,000. There are no arrangement fees and applying is straightforward.

All loans are unsecured, interest-free and repayable over a period of up to four years. The loans are designed to pay for themselves through energy savings, so once the loan is paid off savings go straight onto the bottom line. On average, farmers are expected to save around £10,000 a year by replacing inefficient equipment.

Energy Efficiency loans are available to businesses meeting either of the following criteria:

Companies that meet the EU definition of a small or medium-sized enterprise, i.e. companies with fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50m (around £42m at today's exchange rate).

Companies that are not eligible to participate in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme , i.e. companies that do not consume more than 6,000MWh of half hourly metered electricity. This typically equates to an annual electricity spend of £500,000.

To date, the Carbon Trust's energy efficiency loan scheme has saved UK businesses £100m and 615,000 tonnes of CO2 by funding equipment replacement projects. Based on current take-up, this fund is expected to help around 3,000 businesses to cut costs by £40m, and 26,000 tonnes of C02 a year. £30 million has been dispersed to over 800 businesses since April 2009.