Integrated energy solution

Balcas says it is giving industrial customers the opportunity to reduce energy costs significantly over oil, and reduce carbon emissions by up to 100%, while enabling them to benefit from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for the next 20 years.

Ian McCracken, business development director, said: "With our established track record in the renewable energy industry and vast technical experience, this new integrated steam solution was a natural progression for us, especially when we have a dedicated team in place for business development through to technical support for these large customers.”  

Balcas also provides finance to each of these projects and their experienced team manages the maintenance of the system and fuel supply. Ian explains, "This in turn removes the risk and hassle for the customer as there is no capital investment for them to make - they simply pay for the heat energy used as part of an Energy Supply Contract (ESCO).The solution also delivers energy savings from day one of the system going live, as well as carbon savings on a large scale. For example, a distillery will use the equivalent of many hundreds of homes in oil and so can deliver these carbon savings more quickly than hundreds of smaller installations.”

The distillery sector in Scotland is one of the sectors which Balcas is currently helping with its industrial steam solution, including Tomatin Distillery which has already achieved the 2050 carbon reduction targets of 80% as set out by the Scotch Whisky Association – 37 years ahead of schedule. 

However Balcas believes the initiative will also benefit other manufacturing sectors that use process steam loads, including food processors, chemical manufacturers, animal feed producers and dairies based in non-gas areas throughout the UK. 

"Given that the RHI is for the next 20 years, we believe that having a world class solution for the supply of steam in an industrial or commercial setting backed with the security of supply of fuel for the next 20 years has, and will be, a decisive factor for many customers in this marketplace,” adds McCracken.