SCOT HEAT and Power has revealed more about its ambitious plans for expansion.

The Uphall-based company – which provides wood chip/wood pellet-fuelled boilers to farms and animal feed producers, garden centres, hotels and educational establishments – plans to further diversify with the introduction of an arboricultural specialism in rural estate and forestry management, to provide practical help to landowners and land managers throughout the UK.

SHP recently appointed its own professional chartered forester and can now call upon this knowledge to offer forest planning, thinning and felling operations, ground preparation and restocking services.

Millions of tonnes of waste wood and oversize material are generated each year which, when reprocessed, can deliver major environmental benefits as renewable fuel. The company processes this waste wood on its own sites, diverting it from landfill and delivering a cost-effective disposal route for customers.

Managing director Malcolm Snowie said: “We’re set to yield several interesting opportunities in the very near future, so it’s a really exciting time for us. Our products use biomass and steam energy to provide effective solutions across a wide range of sectors. They’re innovative and technically sophisticated but simple and reliable to run.

"We are targeting further growth in the UK and also diversifying into arboriculture, while maintaining a key focus on our core specialisms which remain the lifeblood of the business," he said. "We are also expanding into the electrical battery storage systems which will offer all turbine users, small and large, additional benefits."

SHP recently established a new base in Windermere, Cumbria, which it sees as the lynchpin of its expansion strategy. Recent strategic partnerships with Cochran UK and Sweden’s Jernforsen bioenergy have given it the capability to provide industrial heat, steam and Combined Heat and Power solutions from 2MW to 35MW thermal capacity using virgin biomass or waste fuels in fully Waste Incineration Directive-compliant installations, with wood chip options up to 8MWe.