Tre-Ysgawen Biomass Investment, Energy Island Boost
by J Roberts
Tre-ysgawen Hall, the 4-Star Hotel and Spa on Anglesey, has invested in an on-site biomass plant to slash its energy costs. The top hotel and Spa at Capel Coch near Llangefni has made a £500,000 long term investment in renewable energy to help put the business on a more sustainable path, given the ever rising costs of energy in the global economy. Welsh Government Enterprise Minister Edwina Hart was on location last week to switch on the new biomass plant. Mrs Hart said the Anglesey hotel is a great illustration of how "investment in low carbon technology generates real economic benefits." It is believed to be the first hotel in Wales to capture the enormous potential energy available in biomass, which will be used for heating the hotel and spa which includes a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. The 600 KW energy system built in Austria and designed to burn wood chips will make a significant dent in Tre-ysgawen Hall's annual energy bill, which is around £200,000. With ever rising global oil prices impacting on the hotel's energy costs, the management decided to seek ways to limit the impact on the costs of its oil, electricity and LPG inputs. This lead to Tre-ysgawen commissioning Carbon Control, an energy and sustainability consultant, whose report pointed towards a biomass plant as a possible solution. The biomass power station installed by Rural Energy wil have an annual running cost of around £40,000 at current prices, however, Tre-ysgawen Hall will benefit under the Renewable Heat Incentive, a government incentive scheme for micro generation, for the next twenty years. Apart from being a renewable source of energy and cutting down on energy costs, the investment has also helped to safeguard the 80 jobs at the hotel and spa, which is very important to Neil Rowlands, the Managing Director. The local economy also benefits as the wood chip supplier has set up a depot on Anglesey to supply the hotel with around 450 tonnes of wood chips, with the creation of at least two full time jobs on location. For more local stories and news, subscribe to our free Anglesey News here. It's as easy as 1-2-3!
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