3 minute read
Environment 58
Revere aims to restore natural habitats at scale with private capita, designing projects with National Parks teams and land managers.
The UK has 15 National Parks spread through England, Wales and Scotland. They contain almost a quarter (24%) of the UK’s peatland, offering a significant opportunity for carbon storage. But the UK’s peatlands are mostly degraded with just one fifth remaining in a nearnatural state.
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Raising private capital to fund the restoration, initial private sector funders include Santander UK, Gatwick Airport, Capita and Southern Co-op, plus additional investment from the National Lottery and DEFRA.
The projects generate revenue through the sale of ecosystem services, creating new income streams for farmers and landowners seeking to improve the quality of landscapes and support biodiversity.
Revere will fund several pilots, including:
The restoration of degraded peatland in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland which will generate revenues for landowners as well as creating verified carbon credits, with the support of Santander UK.
The conversion of hundreds of acres of arable farmland in the South Downs National Park to woodland pasture. The restoration will be funded through the sale of carbon, biodiversity and water quality outcomes and is being supported by Gatwick and Southern Co-op.
Farmers in the Esk Valley in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park are working to restore habitats and deliver natural flood defence improvements.
In the New Forest National Park, arable land is being restored to woodland to generate nitrate reduction and improvements in biodiversity.
Jose Maria Ortiz, Palladium managing director, said: “Taking effective action on climate change is urgent. In the short term, the answer is nature, while in the long term we need innovation. In both cases, investment at scale is necessary. There isn’t time for small-scale interventions anymore. The time is now for bold investments in nature with potential risks, because the alternative is continuing to destroy our planet.”
NATIONAL PARKS
nationalparks.uk
THE FUTURE IS GREEN CO₂
Green CO₂ from a Dorset farm marks the launch of a pioneering model for the UK’s CO₂ industry, and aims to ensure there is no repeat of the industry-wide shortages experienced in 2018.
JV ENERGEN
jvenergen.co.uk JV Energen’s new CO₂ capture facility, at Rainbarrow Farm, supplies the ‘green’ CO₂ to their new joint venture business BioCarbonics Ltd, from a full-scale Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and biomethane-to-grid plant. The result is a clean, sustainably sourced product for local businesses.
The high-quality food and beverage grade product is used for carbonation of bottled and canned drinks, in distribution to pubs for on-site carbonation of beers, ciders and ales, and in horticulture to stimulate photosynthesis for the better production of fruit and vegetables, as well as other various applications.
Championed by The Prince of Wales, Rainbarrow Farm AD plant was the UKs first commercial biomethane-to-grid plant, currently generating enough gas to reach 7,500 houses mid-winter and over 100,000 houses in summer, five times the population of Dorchester. Biogas produced at Rainbarrow Farm was first cleaned and injected as biomethane into the national gas network on 11 October 2012.
Christopher Carson, BioCarbonics managing director, explains: “Most of the CO₂ used in the UK comes from industrial fossil fuel processes with a historically unreliable continuity of supply. “BioCarbonics is changing that by relying on multiple, smaller sources of green CO₂, which is recovered from biomethane production, where clean, green feedstocks are being converted into green gas for use in the national gas network to heat local homes and businesses.
“To safeguard against CO₂ shortages, Rainbarrow Farm is one of two facilities in BioCarbonics’ growing network. The other facility, located in Herefordshire, has been active since June 2019. Together, these two facilities produce over 40 lorries per month of green liquid CO₂.”
As well as the CO₂ being utilised locally, the digestate byproduct is used as an organic, peat free, nutrient soil enricher called ‘Bloomin Amazing ™’, which is bagged as a soil enricher for sale to over 350 garden centres, and helps local farmers significantly reduce reliance on artificial fertilisers.
The management is actively looking to find other AD biomethane to grid producers who are interested in supplying CO₂ to BioCarbonics to help grow this network.
