JHM Crops Ltd.

Miscanthus for Heat and Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

JHM Crops has a close working relationship with a number of boiler manufacturers who guarantee the use of Miscanthus in their boilers. The boiler can take Miscanthus in chip or pellet form but we favour chip form at present as it saves on processing costs. Miscanthus for heat/CHP works very well when a hotel or factory is supplied from farmers who are growing the crop within a 50 kilometre radius. This results in manageable transport costs and gives these farmers who take advantage of their location a competitive advantage over biomass supplied from further a field. Again, the Miscanthus will last for up to and over 20 years, leaving the hotel/factory with a reliable, secure and carbon negative supply of heat that brings money and jobs into a locality. JHM Crops envisage this as a farmer-led enterprise whereby farmers identify the big heat users in their area- hotels, factories, Co-ops etc.-and make a proposal in conjunction with JHM to guarantee a secure and carbon negative supply of heat. The heat market in Ireland offers perhaps the most immediate opportunities for growers of Miscanthus and other biomass. We are confident that Miscanthus will be used in large and small scale boilers and CHP plants providing an environmentally friendly and secure fuel source to farms, businesses and households in Irelandand JHM is already involved in the process of making this a reality. We have already seen how well biomass such as Miscanthus works as a sustainable source of heat in countries such as Denmark and Austria and there is no reason why we cannot achieve similar success in Ireland. Burning Miscanthus for heat or CHP will result in considerable savings on the heating/energy costs of a commercial or domestic user. The REFIT Tariff for biomass CHP allows for a price of 14 cent per kilowatt hour for plants 1500 kw or less and 12 cent per kilowatt hour for plants greater than 1500 kw in size. The key for any CHP project is to have sufficient demand for heat onsite or very close-by to make the project economical. The technology is readily available and JHM are happy to advise interested parties on this. By becoming a contracted grower with JHM you will be able to make use of the expertise we have built up in this area. JHM currently has a number of ongoing projects in the heat sector in Ireland and is constantly seeking new growers. [ for more information contact JHM at 061-395336 or info@jhmcrops.ie ]