Plans underway for first wood fuel processing plant on Isle of Wight

Cheverton Aggregates aims to process 10,000 tonnes of wood a year to turn into woodchip, wood briquettes and wood pellets for domestic and commercial stoves and furnaces and combined heat and power.

The company, whose business interests currently include chalk and flint gravel quarrying, plant hire and recycling, aims to have its new business venture up and running by next year, with the help of a biomass grant, which it is currently applying for.

It says it will source all of its wood from the island, including forestry, tree prunings, wooden pallets, and a range of other raw materials.

“Our aim is to process 10,000 tonnes of wood a year from within the island, which we believe is a realistic target for the island’s needs,” said James Hewitt, a director of the company based near Shorwell.  “We hope to make a significant contribution to the island’s environment, as well as providing alternatives for people who are worried about the rising cost of oil and gas.”

Cheverton Aggregates, which was first established 18 months ago and incorporates a 20-year-old plant hire business, claims to put the environment at the core of its activities.

As well as converting waste from building sites into recycled materials, such as topsoil and crushed concrete, the company has invested in a mobile concrete crusher, which it says cuts down on transportation, thereby saving on fuel and carbon emissions. It has also converted all its diggers to run on bio-fuel.

Meanwhile, the company is looking at ways to recycle clay from its quarry to manufacture island tiles and brick and wants to link up with a skip hire firm to create a waste transfer station to further improve island recycling.

“It’s a great opportunity for the island to make a statement about its green credentials,” said Mr Hewitt.

This time last year, Isle of Wight stakeholders, including the Isle of Wight Council, launched Eco Island, an ambitious plan to turn the island carbon neutral by 2020.

As part of those plans the local authority, last month, announced it had been awarded £6,500 from the South East Woodland and Timber Fund to conduct a wood fuel assessment and strategy. It said the money would be used to assess the amount of wood fuel available from the island’s woodlands as well as clean, waste wood and how this could be supplied to market. Initial estimates indicate the supply is enough to generate between seven and 10 MWth of heat through use of biomass boilers.