Electricity Generation from Methane
From a safety standpoint we need to extract methane from operating mines. Its use as a fuel source both contributes to our operations providing an economic fuel source and reduces the impact on the environment of venting methane, a greenhouse gas with approximately 21 times the environmental impact of CO2. Our methane based electricity generation operations are now treated as part of our deep mine operations.
In 2008, we generated 165,834MWh of electricity (down 9% compared to 2007) from 29 MW of installed capacity from methane extracted at both operating mines and former mine workings effectively self supplying over 60% of our deep mine electricity requirements. Generation from our two non operating mine sites was better than expected with Stillingfleet utilisation being above 95%.
Wind Farms
Harworth Estates now manages the Group’s wind farm portfolio as part of its objective to generate income and achieve asset growth over time. In the last quarter of 2008 the Group completed a strategic collaboration agreement with Peel Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group’s major shareholder, Peel Holdings. Under the Agreement, Peel Energy will undertake investigative work on 14 existing wind farm opportunities and where appropriate take forward, at their own cost, projects through the planning stages to ultimately identify joint venture wind farm development opportunities that can be entered into a site-by-site SPV structure. Dependent on the scale of the success of this initiative, shareholders will have the opportunity of approving co-investment with Peel Energy if this becomes the favoured route. Alternatively the Agreement provides for Peel Energy potentially becoming a commercial tenant of relatively small areas of land forming each of the wind farms. Harworth Estates will additionally work closely with Peel Energy to identify further wind farm opportunities from within the portfolio.