EARTHMILL, the leading farm wind turbine company, has diversified into the rapidly growing combined heat and power (CHP) renewable energy market.

Steve Milner, launched the £13m turnover business in 2009, since when it has become the UK's biggest supplier of wind turbines to farmers and landowners.

The firm now has more than 200 turbines across the UK, with its head-office in Wetherby and service and technical teams throughout the country.

The new business – Earthmill CHP – was formally launched at this week's Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.

The low carbon technology uses a specially-designed reactor, which heats sustainable fuel such as woodchip to produce a flammable gas. The clean-burning "biogas" is then used as fuel in a gas engine to drive a generator and produce electricity.

A large amount of heat is produced in the process, but unlike conventional power stations, it is not wasted. The thermal or heat energy is transferred into water, which can then be used on farms to heat dairies, or pig or poultry sheds, making the process more than 88 per cent efficient.

Owing to its low emissions, an accredited CHP unit qualifies for double subsidies: the high-reward Biogas Renewable Heat Incentive tariff, for the thermal energy that is captured in the process, and ROCs, or Renewable Obligations, for producing clean electricity.

The CHP units cost about £320,000 to buy and install and can be operational within three months with the initial investment recoverable within five years.

Provided the farmer or landowner has an onsite requirement for heating, and consumes reasonable volumes of electricity, the units will generate heat and power, and attract subsidies for a 20-year period.

The company says high energy and heat consuming farms – such as dairy, pig and poultry units – benefit the most from the efficiencies of the technology, reducing costs and generating additional revenues simultaneously.

Mr Milner, managing director, said: "We were one of the pioneers of farm-scale wind power in the UK, and since then we have been staying close to all emerging technologies."

Its diversification into CHP follows over a year of research and negotiation with leading technology suppliers.

Earthmill will become the first installer in the UK to offer a customer co-operative for fuel buying and energy sales into the national grid, maximising operators’ profits.

Mark Woodward, commercial director, said: "Providing the support and reassurance that our wind customers have come to expect is crucial to the success of the CHP division.

"By grouping the buying and selling power of all our customers we can drive a better deal for every producer, lowering costs and increasing revenues. This will see net returns of circa £80,000 for the smaller CHP units, and a conservative payback period of just four years."