Energy Crops
Energy crops are a renewable resource. This is because they grow quickly and can be replaced easily. The energy crops we have at Eco-Park are Miscanthus (elephant grass), Willow and Rapeseed (oil seed rape).
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Miscanthus
Elephant grass is a tall, fast growing crop that is cut down every few years, dried and bailed or made into pellets. The pellets are then burnt instead of coal to produce heat energy. This energy can be used to warm homes or turn turbines to make electricity. This type of product is called biomass. |
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Willow
Willow is used in much the same way as elephant grass. It is chopped down every three years and the stumps left in the ground are left to grow back up. Another form of biomass which, when burned, produces heat energy for making electricity in lieu of coal (a non-renewable resource). |
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Rapeseed
Rapeseed is a yellow flowering plant which produces small round black seeds. These seeds are crushed and this produces oil (canola oil). This oil is present in vegetable oil (used in cooking) and can be used to make biodiesel. It has been reported that cars and lorries powered by biodiesel enjoy a better performance and newer cars do not need special modification to take biodiesel. There is a train in Sweden that runs entirely on biodiesel, it is called Amanda! The CO2 emitted from a car engine is absorbed by the rapeseed, this helps to make the biodiesel ‘carbon neutral’. |
