The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change will visit Suffolk today to officially launch a major new environmentally-friendly installation at Ickworth Estate.
Amber Rudd MP will switch on a brand new biomass boiler at the National Trust site.
The arrival of the boiler comes as the National Trust announces its biggest-ever investment, of £30million, in renewable energy to heat and power more of its historic places.
The Ickworth biomass boiler is one of five major renewable energy projects at National Trust properties, part of a £3.5million pilot launched in 2013.
The installation replaces an oil boiler fed by a 5,000litre tank, providing heating to the West Wing and Rotunda at the major visitor attraction in west Suffolk.
Patrick Begg, rural enterprises director at the National Trust, said: “Ickworth is a great example of where we are taking action to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon emissions. In setting out our 10-year plan we recognised we will have to play our part in helping to mitigate climate change.
“A key part of that is to reduce our reliance on oil and look for greener energy solutions.
“We have a responsibility to look after the special places in our care, requiring us to make long-term decisions that will protect them for future generations.”
The biomass boiler will be fuelled by wood chip sustainably harvested from the estate’s woodlands and is housed in an existing 1960s building which has been regenerated; helping it blend in with the other historic buildings on the estate.
The new system will reduce property carbon emissions by more than 100 tonnes and 38,202 litres of oil per year.
The £30m national investment, by Europe’s biggest conservation charity, marks a milestone in working towards its target to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, cut energy usage by 20% and produce 50% of its energy from renewable sources on its land by 2020.
The trust’s renewable energy programme could also help save up to £4m on its energy costs each year.
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