"Elephant grass" can be a potential source of power
A FEW decades ago, David Croxton, farmer and consultant agronomist, would have struggled to support his family finances. But not today. At present, Croxton owns about 150 hectare (ha) farm near Kingsbridge in south Devon, UK. And this achievement follows an advice to use "elephant grass" - miscanthus - as a major source of power. Croxton says it is a splendid crop as it poses only a few problems to manage.
Miscanthus can grow up to three metres within two seasons. The crop, which has a greater calorific value per ha than willow, can be baled for burning in power stations. Willow is also grown for fuel. Manufacturers are already evaluating the use of miscanthus as an ingredient of medium density fibre-board. A section of farmers in the UK has started to plant the crop below slurry lagoons in order to minimise the risk of pollution leaching into watercourses.
Under the terms of the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation, the UK is needed to produce 10 per cent of its energy needs from green sources, such as willow and forest thinnings. This would be achieved by burning "green" fuel in local power stations of about 350 mw capacity.
Croxton says that an estimated 4,000 ha of green fuel would be required to run a power station. That could be split roughly into 2025 ha of willow, 1,200 of miscanthus, and 800 of forestry thinnings. The power station would be able to supply electricity throughout the year.
The agronomist has set up his own company, Goldoak Farming. "The company and a majority of its farmer clients have just formed a co-operative company called Bical to grow this crop commercially," he says. They expect to plant about 200 ha of miscanthus in the next few years.
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