RENEWABLE energy is big business, and even with changes in government legislation and guidelines, it is an industry that shows no sign of slowing down.

For Scot Heat and Power, a company based at Uphall Business Park on the outskirts of Uphall, Broxburn, West Lothian, and run by husband and wife team, Malcolm and Amanda Snowie, their business is booming, going from strength to strength, working not only with farmers and landowners, but within the food and drink sector too.

Formed back in 2010, the company produce bio-fuels, including wood pellets and wood chip, for the residential and commercial sectors, while supplying the combined heat and power and biomass boiler technology needed to efficiently burn them.

They have established themselves as industry leaders the length and breadth of the country, designing, installing and commissioning biomass boiler systems from 60kW to several megawatts, with the company then providing ongoing maintenance and fuel delivery services.

They moved to their current site at Uphall three years ago, in order to accommodate their increased workforce, and fleet of lorries, and to house all the machinery that comes with the services Scot Heat and Power provide, including their extensive range of wood chippers and shredders.

“Everyone is trying to increase their efficiency,” explains company managing director, Malcolm, “and people are learning more and more about the renewables and biomass industry, so that’s where we come in.

“We supply boilers, but we also go on to maintain and service them, so we provide the full package for our customers. We don’t just install their boiler and then leave them to it. Our shredders and chippers also mean that we can turn almost any type of biomass or grade A wood into a suitable biomass supply list (BSL) quality fuel.”

The company sell biomass boiler technology to commercial customers who have a large heat and steam and CHP requirement. They aim to try to help customers who are needing to reduce their carbon footprint, using biomass technology as the solution.

“We find that carbon emissions are reduced by a factor of 90% using our systems, with a further cost reduction over many fossil fuels,” Malcolm explains. “We also offer process heat and steam to industrial customers, for use in manufacturing. As process heat or steam system providers, we can assist with the analysis and design of the system in order to provide the best energy efficiency available.”

The company also deal with landowners and farmers' woodland requirements, and can deal with the increase of seemingly excess hardwood that is being seen across the country.

They employ 22 full-time staff, a mix of office-based employees, and those working out in the field, covering sales, accounts, technical, engineers, and management.

They also employ their own timber specialist, Andy Wiseman, a fully qualified forester who honed his skills at Buccleugh Bio-Energy and came on board with Scot Heat and Power two years ago.

“He brings a lot of technical knowledge to the table," Amanda tells us. "He focusses on tendering for forestry jobs and helping us make sure that we can provide our customers with the best possible service.”

Andy provides independent forestry advice and, as a chartered woodland advisor, he has industry knowledge that is second to none. He is able to help with farm woodland plans, and can advise both small scale and commercial endeavours.

SHP have depots up and down the country, in Edinburgh, Stirlingshire, Perth and Kinross, Kilmarnock, Aberdeenshire, and even down south in Lincolnshire, so the company's customers never have to feel like they are too far away from service or assistance.

Malcolm adds: “We are in the process of opening a new depot in Cumbria to serve the north of England and south of Scotland, and although the Edinburgh office is our head office, the Cumbria office will be a new site of a similar scale.”

One big contract the company have just landed is to provide the fuel for the new biomass boiler at St Andrews University, a deal which will see Scot Heat and Power dealing with the seaside town’s educational institution for the next decade. It’s a contract Malcolm is clearly excited by, and one that he is keen to make a success of.

“We like to try and source timber for jobs locally, so as to keep ‘wood miles’ to a minimum, so if there are any farmers in the St Andrews or general Fife area with an excess of timber, then I welcome them to get in touch!”

The firm supply pellets to a wide range of projects and are involved in government facilities as far afield as Surrey and parts of Wales. They are also involved in supplying pellets to Gleneagles, and Queen Margaret University, among many other sizeable outfits.

“It’s a competitive market," admits Amanda, “so we pride ourselves on being professional and efficient, something helped by the fact we have our own fleet of timber lorries on the road.

“We’re also a 24 hours a day, seven days a week service, so any issues that come up can be dealt with day or night, our customers never have to feel like help isn’t at hand. With our broad spectrum of staff, we aim to be self-sufficient, and we pride ourselves on being able to handle any situation.”

The company have also recently been unveiled as being in an exclusive partnership with ElectraTherm, to provide their Power+ generator, which makes use of biomass to achieve efficient, clean electricity and heat production.

US based company ElectraTherm already have two installations in the UK, but the deal with Scot Heat and Power marks its first north of the border, in Scotland. The Power+ generator can be used with standard biomass hot water boilers and it can also produce fuel-free, emission free electricity from low grade waste heat, and is capable of reaching outputs of 100kWe power generation.

“We have seen a lot of changes in the industry”, concluded Malcolm. “The technology has all changed, and the size of biomass boilers has done nothing but increase. The evolution of RHI payments has seen many people starting to focus on bigger processors. It’s seen a window of opportunity open for people to get involved in renewables, and that’s more than fine by us!”