AFBI Taking forward research into renewable energy and the environment Dr Lindsay Easson

1. AFBI Taking forward research into renewable energy and the environment Dr Lindsay Easson Acting Head – AFBI Agriculture Branch

2. AFBI was established on 1 April 2006 • AFBI’s mission is: • to support the Northern Ireland agrifood industry through research and provision of diagnostic and statutory services • AFBI areas of activity include: • research in animal production; environment and renewable energy; food quality and safety; animal health and freshwater and marine ecosystem management • food and animal health testing, provision of forage and feed analysis to the Agrifood industry

3. AFBI has approximately 700 staff, and occupies 7 specialised sites across Northern Ireland. Newforge Lane, Belfast. Stormont. Omagh. Crossnacreevy. Loughgall. Hillsborough. Bushmills

4. OVERALL STRUCTURE • Chief Executive – Dr George McIlroy Three Research Divisions: • Veterinary Science • Applied Plant Science • Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences

5. Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences Dr Sydney Neill Deputy Chief Executive Consumer Confidence & Food Safety Quality & Consumer Choice Novel Processes & Products Food Microbiology Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems Marine Fisheries Research Vessel Freshwater Fisheries Sustainable Livestock Systems Sustainable Forage & Crop Systems Renewable Energy Agriculture Nutrient Management Land use & Environmental Monitoring Climate Change Agri Environment

6. AFBI Environment and Renewable Energy Centre, Hillsborough

7. AFBI is now building on its previous work to develop an expanded research programme on Renewable Energy based at Hillsborough • The ‘Environment & Renewable Energy Centre’ is conducting research to meet the present and future needs of the Industry in Northern Ireland • The EREC has been developed with funding from the Secretary of State’s Environment and Renewable Energy Fund

8. 4 ha Miscanthus research site Recovery of forest brash for biomass Research into biomass drying and storage Renewable Energy Centre District heating system Dairy parlour with hot water from biomass heating and solar panels Research into Anaerobic digestion of manures Research into Bio-remediation of farm water 6 ha of willow plots 320 kW Biomass boiler 120 kW Multifuel boiler 26kWe Biogas CHP 100kW Biogas boiler 11kWe Adjustable Solar PV panels Emission monitoring facilities Facility for evaluation of further equipment

9. 4 ha Miscanthus research site Recovery of forest brash for biomass 50% use of liquid biofuels Research into biomass drying and storage Renewable Energy Centre District heating system Dairy parlour with hot water from biomass heating and solar panels Research into Anaerobic digestion of manures Research into Bio-remediation of farm water 6 ha of willow plots Research into the carbon footprint Of the whole site

10. Renewable Energy – Biomass storage and drying The use of ventilated floor to dry chipped SRC willow

11. Renewable Energy – Anaerobic Digestion

12. 12 t forage 216 GJ 35% excreted in manure and urine 76 GJ = 21,000 kW hours Biogas Production 19 GJ CHP Net output 9.3 GJ 1500 kWh electricity 1100 kWh heat Value £236 /ha AD unit Data – Frost, Gilkinson & Buick, 2006 Additional output from 1 hectare of land

13. 1000 hectares of SRC willows (red dots), 10 ha miscanthus Installed wood chip boiler capacity in Northern Ireland 8 mW heat Cookstown Leisure Centre AFBI Hillsborough Strabane Mills Brook Hall CAFRE Greenmount IKEA Omagh College Carvil Housing Balcas CAFRE Loughry Omagh Leisure Centre Waterways Ireland Fayne ValleyCo-op Northern Ireland – Biomass for heat 400 hectares of forest harvested annually 55,000 t of wood pellets manufactured annually BALCAS 10 mW heat Pellets ? Waste wood ? Thanks due to Rural Generation Ltd, Green Energy Ltd and others who supplied information on biomass installations in Northern Ireland

14. Republic of Ireland 2008 SRC Willows 223 ha Miscanthus 1776 ha Total Energy Crops 1999 ha Data supplied by Teagasc

15. Short Rotation Coppice Willows Miscanthus (Elephant Grass) Short Rotation Forestry Opportunities for biomass development in Northern Ireland Forest Brash

16. Energy Supply Companies ESCOs From Field to Furnace GHG performance Site and soil Economics Species and genotype Heat utilisation Crop planting Emissions Crop management Boiler design and performance Harvesting system Drying and Storage Delivery schedule Fuel Quality standards

17. SRC Willow • Clones – advanced state of knowledge • Establishment – well proven system • Crop Management – Best Practice guidelines published • Harvesting– specialist equipment - chipping vs rods vs billets • Storage & drying – active development taking place • Quality standards – chips may require screening - • Boilers – wide range of boilers available • Market – increasing number of biomass installations in NI • Energy Supply Company (ESCO) – range of models being adopted by different producers and end users

18. 25 2007 20 Northern Ireland Miscanthus yields from UK 'Topgrass' Project 15 Yield tDM/ha England 10 5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Data supplied by Rothamsted Research and AFBI Loughgall Years from planting Miscanthus gigantaeus(Elephant grass) • Genotypes • undeveloped • only one clone commercially available • UK selection programme at IGER • Monsanto bought rights in USA in 2008

19. 300 Effect of plastic mulch on development of Miscanthus shoots after planting 250 Plastic 200 Shoots count 150 100 No plastic 50 0 June July Aug Sept Oct AFBI Miscanthus research trials 2007

20. Miscanthus mowing Compressed logs of miscanthus Miscanthus at DRAX Miscanthus baling

21. Forest Brash Preliminary conclusions from brash recovery trials conducted by AFBI and the Northern Ireland Forest Service • 400 ha of forest are clear felled in Northern Ireland each year • Of the 40,000 t of branches and tops normally left on the site up to 20,000 t could be recovered for use as a source of biomass

22. The brash baler at Hillsborough 2007 produced a yield of over 62 tDM/ha brash from a 25 yr old sitka plantation. This has an energy value of 340 mWh per hectare equivalent to 4500 litres of heating oil

23. Brash bales can be transported in the same way as round-wood logs • Chippers capable of handling the brash bales are being evaluated

24. Agri-Environment Branch Expertise • Eutrophication • Soil fertility • Nutrient management • Nitrogen transformations • Phosphorus sources • Environmental change • Stable isotopes (15N) • GIS and GPS • Multivariate statistics

25. Agri-Environment Branch Our research addresses land and nutrient management issues to make appropriate and efficient use of resources, while protecting the environment. The integrated research effort covers the impact of nutrients used by agriculture on air, soil and water quality Major work programmes • Nitrogen • Phosphorus • Soil Quality • Nutrient Management

26. Research on Nitrogen • Monitor nitrate losses to the major Loughs and apportion the contribution due to agriculture • Evaluate management options for lowering GHG emissions (N2O) and losses of N from soil to water • Conduct detailed process studies on N transformations in soils to lead to improved fertiliser and manure efficiency

27. Research on Phosphorus • Monitor phosphorus losses to the major Loughs and apportion the contribution due to agriculture • Maintain 3 sites within UK Environmental Change Network for freshwaters • Evaluate management options for lowering the losses of P from soil to water and establish pathways of P loss

28. Research on Soil Quality • Maintain terrestrial ECN site for chemical and biological indicators of environmental change • Evaluate long-term effects of organic manures on soils • Assess temporal trends in soil fertility & land use modelling using GIS

29. Research on Nutrient Management • Improve nutrient management within intensive grassland based systems using: - Selected pilot dairy farms over Northern Ireland - Experimental farm system studies at Hillsborough • Define water quality targets in Lough Melvin catchment • Develop the potential of x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy for rapid analysis of grass & soil

30. Thank you for listening