Climate and Land Energy Programme

In an effort to identify the impact of the Estate's activities on greenhouse gas emissions (in CO2 equivalence) and the potential value of the contribution which the Estate can make in locking up carbon and displacing the use of fossil fuels, the Estate Climate and Land Energy Programme was launched in July of 2007.
The project is being conducted in four stages:

1) A 'concept note' was prepared, which set out the potential benefits of such an approach to climate change mitigation and to the rural economy generally in the South West.  Although the Estate is financing much of the core work, it is felt that the benefits in terms of methodology and learning will be of significant value across the region.

2) An audit of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was carried out,  using established and emerging methodology to assess the inputs and outputs from the Estate in terms of climate change impact.  The degree of certainty to which the project would work is greater for the Estate itself and the in-hand farming operations, but the project may be extended also to the tenanted farms, subject to tenants'consent.

3) The project aims to assess the realisable potential for carbon sequestraation on the Estate,  in particular through farming, forestry and heathland management, and assess the implications of emerging emissions trading policy.

4) The project aims to assess the scope for integration of existing and proposed renewable energy projects on the Estate in terms of displacing fossil fuel use and reducing GHG emissions
Projects to be assessed will include
*the Estate bio-diesel project
*the biomass heating for the new office and the other potential for biomass heating projects, based on woodchip from the Estate
*the potential for collection of methane from the two dairy herds on the Estate (currently being enlarged to 250 cows each as part of the conversion to organic production), and possibly from tenant farms, in order to produce energy either in the form of heat or to generate electricity to feed back into the grid.

Download the Clinton Devon Estates Climate and Land Energy Project (ECLEP) Document
Download the Clinton Devon Estates Dairy Unit Emissions Spreadsheet
Download the Clinton Devon Estates Energy Use Charts