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Participants at the Natural Light Project’s
recent conference on renewables were given an inspirational tour of the wood
fuelled heating system at West Dean
College
in
West Sussex. The Forestry
Commission praised West DeanCollege
for their exemplary and pioneering contribution to the developing wood fuel
industry in the Southeast.
West
Dean
College,
near Chichester,
processes 1200 dry tonnes of low-grade hardwood timber into woodchip for
their boilers each year. Virtually
all the timber comes from their estate woodlands, providing a crucial
stimulus for continuing woodland management on the estate.
In winter four
to five
loads (shown top right) are used each week (with just one load a week used
in summer). Once processed, the wood-chip is automatically fed into a
screw-auger system (shown bottom right) that in turn feeds into the boilers
on demand.
The technology is easy to see and easy to understand.
Heat and hot water is supplied to the vast mansion house at the
College (including 80 bedrooms), various cottages and accommodation blocks,
the local church, the Visitor Centre and a swimming pool (a convenient
summer heat-sink). The system is
being extended to include a large teaching barn and numerous glasshouses.
West Dean Estate is deservedly proud of their secure supply of carbon
neutral heat.
Installed 22 years ago, this system dwarfs modern equivalents as recent
technical advances have considerably reduced the size of wood-burning
hardware. West Dean
College
demonstrates
how using local woodchip can provide that essential financial stimulus for
woodland management. The high quality of the estate’s woodland is directly
linked to the continuous demand for wood fuel.
More and more of our woodlands in the Southeast are going unmanaged
and becoming derelict for lack of income, resulting in loss of biodiversity
and productivity whilst becoming inaccessible and possibly dangerous. We are
at risk of losing a landscape recently estimated to be generating £1
billion a year for the region in terms of health and life-style benefits,
tourism and rural industry (A Forestry & Woodlands Framework for South
East England, page 2).
The
potential for locally sourced wood fuel to provide financial stimulus to
maintain our valuable wooded landscape whilst providing renewable fuel for
heat needs to be driven home to decision makers. A proven example of a
medium-scale wood-heating system exists at West Dean
College
providing the Southeast with a powerful tool for demonstrating local wood
fuel as a viable alternative to fossil fuel, offering a more secure future
for our woodlands.
The Natural Light Project have produced a DVD about West Dean Estate’s
heating system. Contact: Linda
Glynn,
Tel: 01962 772030
email:
linda.glynn@naturallight.org.uk
www.naturallight.org.uk
The
Forestry Commission Technical Development Branch has made a case study of
West Dean’s system and the Forestry Commission have produced a wood fuel
information pack. Both are available from
Matthew Woodcock, Tel: 01420 23337
E:
matthew.woodcock@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
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