Geograph - photograph every grid square

A short rotation coppice of Willow about 5-6 years old. Assumed to be for biomass production when seen in May 2010 NT3763 : Willow plantation. Discovered being ‘harvested’ in July 2010. Apparently the crop belongs to Scottish Coal, and is part of a carbon credit programme. Not sure how this works, however, since the stems are just being shredded and left to recycle in situ in the environment – the nearest biomass power station that could use it is at Steven’s Croft NY1285 : Steven’s Croft Power Station and Timber Processing Facility, [see also NY1284 and NY1285], about 110 km away, so not economic to take it there. The harvester [John Deere 7500] is 6m high, weighs 11 t, has a 580 bhp engine and uses about 600 l of diesel a day, so that will have a noticeable carbon footprint [you could get a 3-yr old one for £120000]. And the contractor [coppiceresources.com] was from Nottinghamshire. No energy will be created, and the decay of the shredded willow will result in the rapid return of carbon to the atmosphere [invertebrates, fungi and bacteria all respire to produce CO2].


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