Putting energy in to ideas

Eco-entrepreneurs are turning an area near Bath in to a hub ofpioneering green technology. One renewable energy firm in Corsham ishelping turn human waste in to fuel, while one of the best-knownfamily businesses in Bradford on Avon has opened a large solar farm. The panels at Kingston Farm produce sufficient power to supportabout 900 houses and are already powering the Anthony Best Dynamicsbusiness close to the site.

The solar farm is one part of a proposed wide-ranging developmentof the farm by Shaun Moulton, whose family has owned the area sincethe mid 19th century.

Mr Moulton, who is general manager of the Moulton BicycleCompany, wants to make the wider farm area into a mixed-usedevelopment to "enhance Bradford's self-containment and vitality".

He is part of a consortium which wants to bring both businessesand homes to the site, with a planning application expected inFebruary. Mr Moulton said he was delighted the solar farm had openedafter 10 months' work. "I am so pleased that the first part of ourefforts to build a sustainable mixed-use extension to Bradford onAvon has been achieved," he said.

Just down the road, Steve Retford is leading a similarlyenvironmentally enterprise.

The managing director of Torishima (Europe) Projects runs anengineering business which, put simply, turns poo in to power.

Biogas is generated when bacteria degrade biological material inthe absence of oxygen, in a process known as anaerobic digestion.Since biogas is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide it can beused as a fuel.

While the process is not new, Mr Retford believes Torishima'sboiler technology will make it the greenest renewable energyproducer on the planet.

"We're currently working on a design for a boiler where thetechnology will make it the most efficient in the world," he said.

"Where there is a sewage plant, we can put our kit in. We areplanning on taking this technology worldwide. We want to export ourkit into Europe, the Middle East and are looking in to Africa."

The company, which has Japanese backing, currently employs fivepeople at its base in Hartham Park, but that figure could soon rise.

"We are looking to expand quite quickly because at the moment weare contracting quite a lot of the work out," explained Mr Retford.1,252