Scottish forestry minister Rhona Brankin has called on the forestry and agriculture industries to work together to seize opportunities afforded by biomass production.
Ms Brankin, addressing the two-day “Biomass Production – Energy from Forestry and Agriculture” conference on November 21-22, said Scotland needed a more integrated approach to help realise the full potential of biomass as an energy source.
The Elgin conference, attended by more than 100 delegates from 11 European countries, focused on Scottish and EU policy and the opportunities to develop biomass output from forest and agricultural crops.
Ms Brankin said Scotland intended to grow the production of electricity generated from renewable sources to 40% by 2020 and the government is working with stakeholders to develop a biomass support scheme.
Farmers are also being supported to establish short-rotation coppice energy crops, while low-cost community heating projects are being encouraged.
