Last night at a special reception in Glasgow, Aberdeen Grain was named as one of the finalists in the Sustainable Development Award category of the 2014 Scottish Green Energy Awards.

The agricultural co-operative was nominated for its recently completed installation of a biomass heating system to dry grain and oilseeds at its facility at Whiterashes in Aberdeenshire. The system consists of three 2MW SASP biomass gasification boilers supplied by Scottish biomass heating experts Topling Ltd.

As well as reducing the group’s annual fuel bill, it will also save some 1,300 tonnes a year of carbon compared with the previous system and will help to ensure the sustainability of Aberdeen Grain for the future. Capital funding for the £1.25 million investment came from some of the cooperative’s 186 members.

Ian Cruickshank, Chairman of Aberdeen Grain, said, “Being shortlisted for this award is a wonderful recognition for our members who have been behind this project from the beginning and who opted to fund the installation rather than rely on the bank funding we had been offered.

“Fuel is our largest variable cost so switching to locally sourced sustainable woodchip will reduce both our costs and our carbon footprint. The 6 MW of heat will be used with three driers, increasing their efficiency and value to our members.”

The final winner of the award will be announced in front of 1,000 guests at a glittering gala dinner ceremony at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 27 November.