Release Date:  21-Jul-2009

Two residential care homes and two primary schools in Bristol will benefit from new environmentally friendly biomass boilers thanks to a £250,000 grant secured by Bristol City Council.

The government's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) awarded the money to the city council's Energy Management Unit following their track record of successful renewable energy installations.

Bristol City Council is a front-runner in the use of this new technology and has already installed three biomass boilers at Blaise Castle Nurseries, Netham Sports Pavillion and Florence Brown School. It has also helped with the development of a further nine at other schools around the city and one for the new Museum of Bristol, making it the largest cluster of biomass boilers in the South West.

Biomass boilers use wood chip or wood pellets instead of gas or oil to heat the water that is then pumped around the heating system to the radiators. Although burning the wood still releases carbon emissions, the trees are replaced with new trees, which capture CO2 from the atmosphere, making it CO2-neutral. It also saves money in the long-term as wood fuel is cheaper than gas or oil.

Councillor Jon Rogers, cabinet member for transport and sustainability, said: "This grant is great news for the city. Most importantly, it means we can develop four new environmentally-friendly boilers that will reduce our CO2 emissions, save energy and save money. This is also recognition by the government of Bristol's commitment to combating climate change and creating a more sustainable place to live.

"We are determined to reduce the council's carbon footprint and help develop these new, emerging greener technologies that everyone can benefit from in the future."

The new biomass boilers are likely to cost around £600,000 in total so the next step will be for the Energy Management team to obtain internal funding for the project. Planning permission may be required depending on the sites, and the work would then be put out to tender.

It is anticipated that the four boilers will be installed within the next two years. As much of the wood as possible will come from clean wood waste produced within the city.

Bristol City Council has picked up a number of awards in the past year in recognition of its commitment to tackling climate change. These include being named the UK's 'Most Sustainable City', the first Cycling City, the 'Most Proactive Authority' in the Regen SW awards, and being chosen as the only place in the country to be short-listed for the European Green Capital Awards.

The council has a target to reduce its own carbon emissions by 3% year on year and is currently in the process of developing two wind turbines at Avonmouth, to supply 20% of the council's energy requirements.