Our Experience

Experience within the company goes back to 1992 with the development of and research on field scale trials to assess the viability of SRC as a commercial crop. In 1996 we established the first of our own commercial SRC plantations, based on a practical business approach to deal with the challenges facing the farming industry at that time and we have added to these plantations virtually on an annual basis since then. We have also worked closely with a large number of farmers and landowners to develop SRC into a key agricultural crop and have planted and harvested SRC across the UK and Ireland. Our skills and knowledge include the recruitment, establishment and management of 90% of the commercial SRC grown on behalf of Arbre Energy i.e. 1,150ha, 85% of the UK’s commercial SRC at the time. Now we have had input in one form or another into approximately 75 to 80% of the UK’s current commercial crop.

More and more farmers are beginning to see the potential benefits of SRC in terms of the opportunities for diversification, environmental and ecological improvements and long-term, stable incomes compared to conventional crops. The Renewables Obligation is encouraging UK generators to assess the use of energy crops as a viable solution to meeting the Government’s targets for increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As an environmentally acceptable alternative fuel supply for the generation of both heat and power, demand for fuel from SRC has never been greater and the market is now beginning to expand rapidly.

If you are considering growing energy crops for a major end-user or wish to develop a small-scale biomass heating system for your own farm, local community or a larger project, we at CRL will be able to advise you and also provide practical assistance based on the UK’s longest proven experience of SRC commercialisation.