Shropshire Council’s recent biochar event held at Ludlow Library was a resounding success, drawing around 100 participants keen to learn about biochar and its environmental benefits.
Held last Wednesday (6 November 2024), the drop in event was organised to raise awareness of biochar and its uses, as well as inform people about the council’s plans to produce it on the outskirts of Ludlow.
Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, said:
“We were pleased with the public’s engagement with around 100 people attending the biochar event. We were genuinely impressed with the level of interest and the questions that were posed.
“Overall, it was a great opportunity to show the biochar product, share knowledge and spark meaningful discussions about how biochar is produced.
“It was also useful to explain how biochar stores carbon and how it can be used in a range of applications including agriculture and construction.”
As many will know, the council is investing £2 million of capital in locally manufactured biochar producing pyrolysis plants. Its first investment is now in place for one pyrolysis unit, currently being built by Woodtek Engineering Ltd on Caebardd farm in Powys. It is expected that this will be operational later this year (2024).
However, the council also has a second site under consideration for biochar production at the former anaerobic digestion (AD) plant on Coder Road Business Park, on the outskirts of Ludlow. It hopes to submit a planning application for this site later this year (2024).
Ian added:
“The creation of biochar is an innovative and sustainable way to reduce net carbon emissions and create income to support delivery of public services.
“Our first biochar plant is almost ready to start producing and we’re keen to progress with our proposal to build one in Ludlow, with other plants likely to follow elsewhere in the county.
“It’s great that we’ve had so much interest in our plans and already we are engaging with other councils looking to invest in the technology.’’
For further information about biochar from pyrolysis, people can visit the council’s website here: Biochar from pyrolysis | Shropshire Council
While the council faces significant financial challenges, the money being used to invest in the biochar project is coming from the council’s capital budget. It is not allowed to use its capital budget to pay for the delivery of services, it’s money that it must use to invest in projects that support economic, housing and population growth. And this is one of them.
