Distillery secures biomass funding
23 Jul 2013
Installation of a biomass boiler funded at a whisky distillery south of Inverness has become the first project in Scotland to receive funding from the £3.8 billion UK Green Investment Bank.
The £1.2 million investment in the project at Tomatin Distillery comes from Energy Saving Investments (ESI), a joint venture between the GIB and infrastructure fund manager Equitix.
The boiler at Tomatin will be fuelled by sustainably-sourced wood pellet fuel, replacing the oil-fired boiler currently used to generate the steam necessary in the production of whisky.
It is expected to cut the plants’ CO2 emissions by over 96,500 tonnes during the 20-year life of the investment.
We have a strong pipeline of investments in Scotland
GIB chief executive Shaun Kingsbury
Tomatin’s new boiler, manufactured by Balcas, will operate on EN plus A1 Standard pellets and is set to replace 80% of the heat load produced by the oil-fired system.
GIB chief executive Shaun Kingsbury said the investment was the first of many in Scottish distilleries.
“We have a strong pipeline of investments in Scotland and hope to be able to announce further investments in Scottish distilleries, as well as other projects, very soon,” he said.
