Woodchips turn up the heat at The Co-operative
The Co-operative Food has installed a new heating system in its Fort William store which turns woodchips into energy to provide heat and hot water.
The woodchips are made from waste from local firm BSW Timber and from forests just ten miles away at Spean Bridge. Fuelling a special biomass system installed at The Co-operative’s new-look store in Caol, the woodchips will save around 90 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
The biomass heating system is the first to be installed by the retailer at one of its stores.
The Co-operative has teamed up with Fort William-based HW Energy, which will operate the system as part of the recent £540,000 refit of the store. CO2 emissions from the woodchip burner are absorbed by the forest, and more trees are planted to replace those used for fuel to create a renewable, sustainable, “closed-loop” system.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Martin Lowe, regional energy manager for The Co-operative Food, said: “It’s the first time we’ve installed a biomass system into one of our stores, and if this pilot works well then we will consider introducing them elsewhere.
“As a community retailer this sort of system is ideal for us. Not only is it environmentally-friendly, and cost-effective, but working with a Fort William-based supplier, HW Energy, means were also able to boost the local economy as well.”
