The Highland Council has reaffirmed its support to providing cleaner, greener energy for its sites with a contract for the servicing, maintenance and repair of biomass installations, including the supply of woodfuel.

The contract is for four years and is worth £1.2m.

As many Highland communities are off the gas network biomass offers an attractive alternative to more traditional fossil fuels.

The contract, awarded to Fort William based biomass heat specialists HWEnergy, will include the service and maintenance, installation and heat supply across 59 of its sites and will result in projected savings of £900,000 a year, 40% less than the cost of heating from oil.

In addition, the initiative will see a combined carbon saving of 7,500 tonnes per annum, the equivalent to 30million car miles off the road per annum.

The Highland Council are the first local authority to implement the Scottish Governments Biomass Energy Supply Agreement Framework for the public and third sector which was introduced earlier this year. It is designed to help achieve the Government's target of 11% of heat generated through renewable sources by 2020.

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Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor Drew Hendry said: "We have a responsibility as a major public body and employer to create a greener healthier future. We have been taking steps to move away from the more traditional heat sources toward a renewable alternative in recent years and have already brought biomass boilers on to various sites across the Highlands, with further installations planned over next few years.

"The contract with HWEnergy to fully manage and operate these boilers really consolidates our commitment to providing a renewable source of heat to our sites, including schools, leisure centres and care homes, both now and long into the future.

"Biomass heat allows us to generate significant cost savings against oil which we can use to support other services in the area, it creates huge carbon savings which helps the environment and indirectly through local fuel supply it helps stimulate jobs and the local economy. It's a win win situation all round.

"For us, having HWEnergy provide a one-stop shop including the supply of the fuel, all servicing and maintenance significantly reduces our day-to-day involvement and provides a single point of accountability to make sure the biomass systems deliver the cost and carbon savings."

The contract for HWEnergy and the Highland Council started on 1 July.

Fuel for this contract will be supplied from a network of sustainable sources in Scotland and will be a combination of wood chips and pellets.

(JP/CD)