Welsh farm gets six figure investment for biomass boiler

A family run farm in Wales has received a six-figure financial package to purchase a new biomass boiler, according to Farming UK. The funding from HSBC will allow the farm to significantly reduce its fossil fuel consumption while increasing its grain yield.

The new biomass boiler will provide Tythegston Farm in Glamorgan with a sustainable heating solution to boost the grain-drying process by allowing the farm to harvest its crop earlier. It will also give the tenants of the farm access to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), a government initiative which provides financial rewards to farmers for generating and using renewable energy to heat their businesses.

In July 2017, HSBC announced it would commit £300 million to support the UK’s agriculture sector, as part of its wider package to help British businesses realise their growth ambitions.

“We have enormous expertise in the agriculture sector and as a key focus for us, we want to be able to support customers, both old and new, even more,” said Neil Wilson, head of agriculture at HSBC, in a statement released at the time.

“The Agriculture Fund demonstrates our commitment to doing this, and we hope we will lend even more than £300m to help ambitious British agriculture and farming businesses achieve their goals”.

Lyn Anthony, co-owner of R&L Anthony Ltd, the operators of the Glamorgan farm, told Farming UK: “HSBC has helped us achieve a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for our farm’s harvesting process and we can now dry grain almost all year round, which is something we haven’t been able to do before.”

The arable farm has been owned by Lyn, and her husband Richard, for more than 20 years. It supplies animal feed to farmers across South Wales.