The companies have been awarded funds of £1.3 million (€1.57 million / $2.17 million)

Apr 17, 2014 18:51 GMT  ·  By

This April 17, Energy Minister Greg Barker announced that three companies in the United Kingdom had been awarded funds amounting to £1.3 million (€1.57 million / $2.17 million) to research into the possibility of producing bioenergy from wetlands.

Specifically, the three companies, i.e. AMW IBERS, Natural Synergies, and AB Systems, are to spend this money to demonstrate ways to use reeds and rushes, i.e. two types of plants commonly found in wetlands, in renewable heat and electricity production.

According to Click Green, these three companies have until now each developed project designs, and all that remains is for them to test their ideas and figure out which improvements – if any – are needed.

By the looks of it, AMW IBERS, Natural Synergies, and AB Systems will get to test their project designs in three of the United Kingdom's wetland areas, including Somerset, Suffolk, and Inverness, the same source details.

Commenting on the decision to support the work of these three companies, Energy Minister Greg Barker said, “These valuable initiatives will help to bring down the costs of this clean, green technology.”

“The ability to turn plan material – that would otherwise have been burned or left to decompose – into a sustainable energy source is an important part of the move towards a low carbon economy,” he added.