FERMANAGH firm Balcas is to partner with Green Investment Bank (GIB) to help a Scottish whisky distillery become more sustainable
The wood pellet manufacturer Balcas will power a second distillery with an innovative steam-generating bio-mass boiler.
The firm, the largest producer of wood pellet fuel in Britain and Ireland, has partnered with GIB and Equitix to invest in the Aberfeldy distillery in Perthshire.
It is the second Balcas and GIB part-nership at a Scottish distillery following a similar arrangement at the Tomatin distillery near Inverness.
The project at the Aberfeldy distillery will finance the installation of a 4MW biomass boiler, to replace the existing, inefficient, heavy fuel oil boiler.
The boiler will be used to produce steam, necessary for several parts of the whisky production process.
GIB's group operations director Rob Cormie said: "Projects like this have a material impact on the bottom line of distilleries, as well as saving greenhouse gas emissions.
"I would encourage other distilleries to install a biomass boiler - an investment to make long term savings and to help to meet the ambitious green targets set by the Scottish Whisky Association. Our 'spend to save' model means that companies don't need to find the capital up-front, and can start saving money from day one."
The £1.1m investment is being made by the Equitix-managed fund, Energy Saving Investments (ESI), in which GIB is the cornerstone investor, alongside the Equitix Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF).
Balcas managing director Ernest Kidney said: "Having a secure fuel supply and reducing environmental impact are two major challenges facing distilleries and are two key benefits delivered by our integrated energy solution.
"The biomass steam boiler at Aberfeldy distillery will be up and running by October this year and will reduce the distilleries carbon emissions by approximately 7,500 tonnes annually. We look forward to helping Aberfeldy distillery achieve their industry targets, which in the case of Tomatin was 37 years ahead of schedule."