09/04/26 C02 plant back up and running, planting in a bog, oilseed rape

Farmers in the North East of England have welcomed the re-opening of the UK’s only carbon dioxide production plant after 6 months of inactivity. It was mothballed last year, after the US trade deal made it unprofitable. But the war in the Middle East has led to government concerns about CO2 shortages, and they’ve awarded a £100 million pound grant to the Ensus bioethanol factory at Redcar to re-start production.

Paludiculture is the practice of farming on wetlands, like bogs or re-wetted peatlands and fens. Defra awarded grants to 12 projects to look at growing crops in lowland peat; the UK’s peatlands store 3 billion tonnes of carbon and keeping peat wet means locking it in the earth, so it’s not lost as C02 contributing to global warming.
The Holker Estate on the southern coast of Cumbria is one of those exploring the potential of paludiculture.

And oilseed rape is having a good year.

Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Beatrice Fenton.