PELLETime is a European collaboration between Scotland, Sweden, Iceland and headed by Finland. Its aims are to develop an accessible package of tools to design sustainable pellet supply chains, thereby promoting the role of local entrepreneurs in utilising local renewable energy resources and supporting the energy self-sufficiency of northern peripheral regions.
The Scottish programme is managed by Highland Birchwoods. The programme in Orkney and Shetland is run by the Agronomy Institute Orkney College UHI and aims to develop new biomass crop products that can be developed into energy pellets as an sustainable, economic alternative to oil based energy systems that can be produced locally.
The project has two field trials, one in Shetland and one Orkney, that are testing the potential of forage grasses, cereals for straw, Reed Canary Grass and willow for conversion into pellets for biomass heating systems.
There are 3 strands to the project in Orkney and Shetland
Crop research
Visual Impact Assessment
Biodiversity and the Environment