Farm Based Anaerobic Digestion at Standhill, Hawick

Friday 29 September 2017, 1.00 – 3.00 pm

Since taking over responsibility for the family farm at Standhill, Jim Shanks has introduced some innovative changes to traditional farming practice, initially using knowledge gained from visiting other countries under a Nuffield scholarship. The farm now has 200Kw Anaerobic Digestion unit utilising dairy herd and vegetable waste and this year the first custom-built glasshouse for many years to be erected in Scotland, supplying tomatoes to major retailers.

Heat from Sewage System at Borders College 

Friday 20 October 2017, 1.00 – 3.00 pm

Borders College has entered into a Heat Purchase Agreement with SHARC Energy Systems which delivers 95% of the College’s heat requirements, providing significant savings against gas prices.  SHARC Energy Systems has worked with Scottish Water Horizons to enable sewage to be intercepted from its network in the Galashiels area.  The scheme has been developed in such a way as to not impact on the normal operation of the sewerage network and enable the downstream waste water treatment process to continue working effectively.

Farm Scale Biomass Heating Networks and Solar Array at Woodend, Duns

Friday 10 November 2017, 1.00 – 3.00 pm

Woodend Farming Partnership is a family farming business producing arable crops, free-range eggs, renewable energy and firewood.  Its policy is to maintain and increase the value of its capital and natural assets by following industry best practice.  This includes mitigating their environmental impact by being fuel efficient and self-sufficient wherever possible, partly by installing a 75 kW wind turbine, 50 kW solar PV array and a 950 kW biomass boiler for drying and district heating.  All the heat used on the farm comes from burning their own straw and they generate at least as much electricity as they consume annually.

To book a place please contact Pip Tabor, Southern Uplands Partnership, on 01750 725154 or email piptabor@sup.org.uk.