Renewable energy system to be piloted in Isle of Skye

The scheme involves using dried wood chips in automatically stoked boilers to heat large buildings situated near Broadford on Skye by the end of November. For commercial customers, Torren Energy will cover the capital cost of the supply and installation of the Scandinavian-made boilers and fuel hoppers, allowing the customer to pay only for the heat used.

“The beauty of this type of system is that we can offer our customers a fixed price structure for periods of up to five years – something that fossil fuel suppliers cannot do,” said Andrew Sutherland, Director of Torren Energy.

Low-grade timber and wood residues are used, which are sourced from local sustainably managed forests, creating markets for forestry by-products which previously had little value. According to Torren Energy, as the fuel is carbon-neutral, it will escape the forthcoming Climate Change Levy.