Under scrutiny: Clutching at straw

With the government bound by an international agreement to source 15% of the UK’s overall energy from renewable sources by 2020, under the European Commission’s Renewable Energy Directive, bio-energy is expected to play a key role in achieving — and potentially exceeding — this target.

However, what has raised fears in the meat and farming industry is the fact that the plant, based in Mindlesham, Suffolk, will be fuelled by straw: around 240,000t of it per annum will be burnt in a ’clean and efficient’ combustion process, which amounts to 40 lorry-loads a day. If the plant gets the go-ahead, pig and poultry producers may find straw availability comes under increasing pressure, pushing production costs up and squeezing margins even tighter.  

NPA regions manager Lizzie Press told Meat Trades Journal that the potential advance of straw-fuelled biomass energy plants across the country poses a direct threat to the pig industry. Eco2 intends to source straw from farms no further than 30 miles away, but Press points out it will be situated in the most densely populated pig-producing areas in the country. She also worries that this is just the beginning, and even if plants use mixed biomass fuels —typically composed of 60% cereal straw, 40% rape straw, miscanthus and woodchip — huge amounts of straw will still be required.

There are already operational straw-fuelled plants in Ely (REA) and Selby in Yorkshire (Drax Power), with another under construction at Sleaford in Lincolnshire and further proposals for plants at Snetterton in Norfolk (Iceni Energy), as well as the Mindlesham plant in Suffolk.

Press said: “If these biomass plants get planning permission and become operational, they are going to want a supply of straw, they are going to want to source it from as near as possible to save on transport costs and, as they are going to be subsidised by the government, they can afford to pay more for it, which will push the market price up for everyone.

“These plants will become more numerous and their sourcing areas are going to overlap. They are going to be in competition with each other and with our livestock producers as well.”

Following the government’s announcement in October that it intended to change the feed-in tariffs for solar-generated power, energy plants of this type are expected to increase, as solar-generated energy feels the pinch. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has said that biomass supplies will need to increase significantly and sustainably, in line with government policies for biodiversity, land use and climate change and the government is currently developing a UK Bioenergy Strategy, which will launch around the end of the year.

A DECC spokesman told Meat Trades Journal: “As part of its underpinning evidence base, the strategy will consider the availability of sustainable feedstocks to 2020 and beyond, as well as the potential impacts, economic and carbon, on the use of biomass in the energy sector as opposed to other uses.

“The evidence base for the Bioenergy Strategy includes a report by global consulting firm AEA Technology, looking at UK and global biomass availability, including agricultural residues such as straw.”

Everyone, it seems is becoming interested in renewable energy and Press explained the attraction. “It is another income source when money is tight,” she said. “Arable farmers will see it as adding value to an existing product and there is going to be a lot of money in it in the future. But it isn’t going to be good for pig producers, as it will ultimately mean that they will pay more from their straw and have to haul it from far further afield.” Straw, she added, looks likely to become a commodity in its own right.

A taster of what might happen if competition leads to serious lack of availability was seen earlier this year, when poor harvests, caused by the summer’s droughts, resulted in straw scarcity and a subsequent hike in prices. This prompted calls on arable farmers to bale as much straw as possible, including that from oilseed rape. Defra has already warned that there may be further water shortages in 2012, after the driest 12 months since records began. Rainfall in the east of the country was down by around 50% in September and October and Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman this week granted Anglian Water a drought permit. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency is currently urging farmers in the south east of England to plan ahead with regard to fodder and bedding in order to minimise the possible impact of water shortages.

Although England’s pig farmers use over 350,000t of straw a year, at present the UK produces around 10mt of straw, which should be more than enough to go around. Indeed Eco2 stresses the government estimates that put the straw surplus (that is, straw produced in existing production that has no other market) in the east of the country at 3mt.

However, Guy Gagen, chief combinable crops advisor at the NFU, pointed out that the problem lay primarily with the fact that baling straw can be a high-risk option for arable farmers while the lack of investment in machinery and infrastructure renders them unwilling to take their chance. He said: “In the east of the country, there is far more straw produced than any livestock industry or biomass plants could hope to use up, but it is not necessarily baled or being used efficiently, often being chopped back into the soil.

“But it’s not just a matter of belligerently ploughing in valuable straw,” he pointed out, “as arable farmers don’t want the risk of leaving straw in swath after the combine.”

Despite the trepidation felt by many pig producers, the energy companies’ willingness to work alongside the meat and farming industry may result in a more symbiotic relationship between the two. Eco2 said it was keen to consult with stakeholders where possible, to create a project from which the local community can benefit. It argues that the new plant will stimulate the straw market and inject over £8m per year into the local economy through the use of long-term secure contracts.

The NPA applauds this kind of responsible attitude and maintains some hope that the size and financial heft of the energy companies may be directed to the advantage of everyone. Energy companies may have more influence over arable farmers and persuade them to bale and store straw properly, resulting in greater availability and higher-quality straw.  

It is now working with Iceni Energy and fuel partners on the Snetterton plant proposals to try to determine a straw-sourcing policy which will avoid any detrimental effects local livestock producers. Although this idea is still embryonic, Press hopes that this may be indicative of a positive relationship developing between producers and power companies.

Gagen also remains optimistic about the green energy revolution. “There are advantages to everyone in this new industry, but you just need to balance it all out and find ways to make the market work better,” he said.

He pointed out that the potential created by long-term stable contracts could increase investment in collection — from baling machinery, to improve contractors’ availability to remove the straw quickly, to storage, putting buildings up to store straw rather than just leaving it outside where it is more at risk from the elements. “This really ought to be great opportunity for investment,” he said, “the kind of investment you need to encourage arable farmers to get the straw baled, and make good-quality straw available for those who need it — for livestock and for power.”

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