Fuel crop worth €100 per acre to the grower
One hectare of willows, harvested at 25% moisture, can produce 13 tonnes of chips, equivalent in energy terms to 4,500 litres of home heating oil, which now costs about €4,000.
Less than 1½ acres would be sufficient to replace heating oil for the average home.
In the “To-day’s Farm” magazine circulated to Teagasc clients, profitability of €100 per acre to the grower for this low labour crop is projected.
As oil prices continue to rise, its attractions could increase further. Home heating oil now costs nearly €1 per litre; even at 80 cent per litre, oil generated heat costs 8 cent per kilowatt hour, compared to 3 cent for willow chip.
But the focus of willow chip companies is on larger commercial operations presently, because the high cost of conversion from oil to chip makes individual home heating less feasible. Co Meath willow entrepreneurs Pat and Peter Farrelly say a company’s heating bill could be reduced from €130,000 per annum with oil to €37,000 with willow chip.
They believe that the crop will be attractive to many farmers because of the low labour cost, and the potential for oil prices to increase.
