In very welcome news this morning, Minister Bruton has announced that the SSRH scheme has officially been opened to accept applications as of today. This is particularly good for those looking to set up facilities of up to 2 MB as the supports are best suited to those facilities. The positive news for forest owners and those interested in timber supply, is that there is now the potential for better returns on the lower margin elements of your forest products. If your forest is in an area restricted to market access by distance, it is possible you may have a biomass facility establish close to you and thus improve the revenue from thinning operations in particular (where the main volume extracted is pulp). Thius might also facilitate earlier thinning and thus improve the returns due to a shorter rotation.

Alternatively, it is very much worth considering establishing Poplar plantations under the wood for fibre scheme. The grant will cover the establishment of the crop and the annual premium is €520 per hectare for 15 years (over 10 hectares planted).

Green Belt is the country's leading grower of poplar and is developing markets beyond simply biomass for the products generated from the growth of this timber. An expected IRR from a poplar plantation, over a 15 year cycle is a conservative 5% per annum, compounded. Green Belt can source and acquire land and licences on your behalf for this and any other forestry application you might have. We are also in a position to secure supply contracts for biomass plants under the SSRH scheme - Energy supply contracts, Energy delivery contracts, Supply of biomass only - and welcome an opportunity to discuss these options with you.

The full press release from the DCCAE is below in text or follow the link.

Minister Bruton Announces Support for Renewable Heat Applications open today Support Scheme for Renewable Heat

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton T.D., today (4th of May) opened the second phase of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH), which will provide operational support for biomass boilers and anaerobic digestion heating systems.

Making the announcement Minister Bruton said: "If we are to cut greenhouse gases, we must replace fossil fuels by renewable sources. This scheme is designed to replace fossil fuel heating systems by heat pumps and by heat from biomass or anaerobic digestion. These are sustainable and renewable sources."

"The scheme will include important protections to ensure that the heat supported is sustainable, used for useful purposes and represents value for money for the taxpayer. Over the lifetime of the scheme, the successful delivery of this programme can reduce carbon emissions by 11Mt – a significant contribution to meeting our emissions reduction targets."

Applications are open today. This round of the Scheme will support businesses and farms for up to 15 years for the installation and on-going use of biomass and anaerobic digestion heating systems. The Scheme is designed to support up to 1,300 GWh of renewable heat per year (equivalent to the heating needs of circa 120,000 homes).

Overall, the projects supported will increase the renewable heat use in Ireland by three percentage points and decrease emissions in the non-ETS sector by approximately 300,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The scheme has integrated lessons learned from other similar schemes in other jurisdictions and, as a result, includes detailed eligibility and budgetary controls.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) will administer the scheme. Jim Gannon, CEO of SEAI, commenting on the launch said: "Across Europe, heating remains one of the most challenging areas in which to achieve carbon emission reductions. This scheme is a vital component part of the Government's overall policy framework to decarbonise heat. SEAI is looking forward to delivering the scheme efficiently and effectively, mobilising the marketplace while maintaining a keen focus on value for public moneys."

The first phase of the SSRH, an installation grant for heat pumps, opened in September 2018 and supports ground, air and water source electric heat pump installations with grant-aid up to 30% of the capital outlay. Under Project Ireland 2040, the National Development Plan sets out an allocation of €300 million for the rollout of the scheme for the period up to 2027.

Full details of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat including the tariff levels, terms and conditions and how to apply are available on SEAI's website.

ENDS Note to Editors:

Biomass is the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues of biological origin from agriculture, forestry and related industries including fisheries and aquaculture.

Biomass boilers work by burning biological matter and outputting the resulting heat for use in heating systems. Wood pellets, chips, logs or other biological materials are fed - automatically, semi-automatically, or by hand - into a combustion chamber where they are ignited. The hot gas and air produced by this process travel through a flue, and are then passed through a heat exchanger, which transfers the heat to the water used in the property's central heating system. The excess heat is also stored in a thermal tank.

Anaerobic digestion is a process in which organic material (e.g. food waste, agricultural waste, silage, energy crops etc.) breaks down, in the absence of oxygen, to produce biogas. This can be combusted to generate heat and/or electricity.

A heat pump system harnesses energy from renewable sources (such as the air, water or ground) outside the building. This heat can then be used for heating buildings, hot water, and for use in manufacturing processes.

Electrical heat pumps use a compressor to draw heat from a low temperature source, such as external air or ground to heat the building interior. While conventional heating systems such as storage heaters and boilers cannot produce more heat than that contained in their fuel source, a heat pump typically will produce three to four units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed.

The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) will support commercial, industrial, agricultural and other non-domestic heat users to adopt renewable heating systems.

The SSRH has been developed to increase the use of renewable energy in the heat sector by circa three percentage points.

The tariffs have been calculated to compensate the difference between renewable technologies and the fossil fuel counterfactual, i.e. natural gas.

Existing biomass or biogas installations will not be eligible for support under the SSRH. This is in line with State aid rules which provide that projects will only be eligible for support if they apply for aid before work on the project starts.

The lessons learned from similar schemes in other jurisdictions have been integrated into the design of the SSRH. In particular, there are eligibility criteria that projects must continue to conform to over the period of support (up to 15 years). These criteria will ensure that heat generated is applied to useful, economically justified purposes only. In addition, there are a number of budget management mechanisms to ensure value for money for the exchequer. These include project budget caps, an annual budget cap for the scheme, annual reviews of the tariffs offered to new applicants and periodic tariff reviews to prevent windfall gains.

Green Belt is delighted to see the DAFM publish forestry statistics for 2019

Annual Forest Sector Statistics The Forest Service has the responsibility for the collection and publication of forest statistics. An annual forest statistics report had been published by the state since its foundation up to 1988, but was discontinued thereafter. This publication reinstates annual reporting on the forest estate and forest industry and brings together previously published and new statistics into a single publication.

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/forestservicegeneralinformation/foreststatisticsandmapping/annualforestsectorstatistics/

The Dpartment of Agriculture (@DAFM) has issued an Orange warning in relation to forest fires. This is issued on the back of high pressure weather systems and the seasonal undergrowth available for fire. https://www.rte.ie/news/environment/2019/0514/1049324-coillte-warning/

Please take every care in or around forests and if you see a fire, call the fire brigade.

In this fascinating video, Sir David Attenborough explains the damage that's been done to the worlds forests. However, he also outlines the potential to regenerate these forests and the enormous benefits these forests provide.

In Ireland, we are in a really wonderful position to develop a sustainable, vibrant forestry and woodlands expanse. This can be so complementary to all of the country and our agricultural enterprises. For so long, there has been a disconnect, but this presents a huge opportunity to improve our carbon capture potential.

Please enjoy this video and call us to see how you can play your part in this forestry project.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012. The Day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. On each International Day of Forests, countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns. The theme for each International Day of Forests is chosen by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests. The theme for 2019 is Forests and Education.

What are you doing for the International Day of The Forests?

Green Belt would like to invite you to an information evening on Thursday, March 28th. Please see the invitation here At this event, we will spend time speaking about FACT - our initiative to consolidate Ireland's private forestry estate and also our second venture into Panama and growing Teak. There will be 2 sessions on the evening - the first at 4:30 and the second at 6:30 - bothtopics eill be discussed at each meeting. There will be time for direct questions and discussion post presentation. Please pass this along to those you feel may be interested.

In the meantime, should you have any questions, please contact Maurice Ryan on 087 675 3097 or via email at maurice@greenbelt.ie.

See you there!

As a further commitment to enhancing the areas we operate in, Green Belt is engaging in a project to develop conservation action plans for key special areas of conservation and carry out crucial conservation works in order to bring these sites back into favourable condition. The sites have been chosen have been deemed to be in unfavourable condition for a variety of reasons and the works we aim to carry out will move them in the right direction. This work will be carried out over the next 3 years on specific sites and will address issues such as over grazing. Further details will be shared as the project develops.

Forest Industries Ireland (FII) is placing timber and forestry at the heart of Ireland’s rural economy. FII ( https://www.iffpa.ie/Sectors/IFFPA/IFFPA.nsf/vPages/Home ) brings together companies from across the forestry and timber supply chain, from forest owners and forestry companies, to timber processors, wood product manufacturers, and renewable energy producers. Our companies take pride in the high-quality employment we provide and the sustainable products we deliver.

FII brings a focus to the forestry industry in Ireland and the great benefits it offers across social, economic and environmental aspects of our communities. Green Belt, as an integral part of FII, welcomes the engagement from all parties including Coillte and the sawmills, and looks forward to progressing the industry into new and exciting territory.

Numerous publications and articles are featured on the website so we would encourage you to browse through these.

To everyone we have worked for, with and even against, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year.

We greatly appreciate all the opportunities you have provided us to maintain our position as leading forestry management service providers across Ireland - and beyond.

2019 promises to be both challenging and exciting with great changes in the environmental aspect of how businesses and individuals need to operate to combat the climate change. Green Belt is pioneering to be at the forefront of the Irish forestry industries ability to provide unique solutions.

Once again, thank you for everything and we look forward to speaking with you into the new year.

In the meantime, if you need a stocking filler....FACT

Green Belt is continuing its nationwide harvesting operations. Ensuring best returns for the forest owner is a key principle, and that means we explore all the available markets to deliver the strongest prices on the market. Green Belt arranges all the necessary licences and operations to harvest timber from forests all over the country. Depending on location, each product harvested will have a specific destination. The destination and demand affects the price paid for each product.