Hotel goes green in the Forest of Dean
Renewable energy from a biomass boiler is part of the installation that replaces a 30-year-old cast-iron gas-fired boiler at the Bells Hotel & Country Club in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Working with Hewer FM and Hamworthy, hotel manager Curt Green assessed the cost of biomass compared with a traditional gas boiler, taking into account the relevant Government incentives. He comments, ‘When we compared the proposals for both systems, it was a no brainer. The payback period is relatively short when claiming the Renewable Heat Incentive, so it made good commercial sense.’
Heating and hot water is now provided by a Hamworthy Herz Pelletstare 45 kW biomass boiler and a 1000 l buffer/accumulator vessel. An intermediate hopper automatically feeds pellets to the boiler as required. The store can hold up to 200 kg, and a local supplier delivers fuel as and when needed.
Rob Lane, contracts manager with Hewer FM, managed the design and installation. He says, ‘This was our first biomass boiler installation, and we were really pleased at how smoothly the project went. We have worked with Hamworthy for many years, and they supported us well on this installation. We are now increasingly seeing more projects that are considering biomass boilers to help reduce heating costs and lower carbon emissions.’
The RHI claim for a recent quarter was for over 42 MWh, for which the hotel hopes to receive £3500.
