Thursday 8th of November 2018 | Posted In: Generate, Generating energy, Renewable energy, Use and Manage

Case Study: Helping MH Poskitt with their RHI and FiT accreditation

MH Poskitt became one of our Energy Account Managed customers after we helped them with their RHI and FiT accreditation. This meant that they can focus on their business while making the most from the output of their Anaerobic Digester and Combined Heat and Power plant.

MH Poskitt Limited is a family owned business that specialises in root vegetable growing in the East Riding area of Yorkshire. Throughout the year they produce over:

  • 50,000 pumpkins
  • 50,000 tonnes of carrots
  •   9,000 tonnes of parsnips
  •   5,000 tonnes of swedes
  •   2,000 tonnes of potatoes

On site, they have an Anaerobic Digester (AD) plant that produces biogas for their 250kW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit. They also have solar panels that produce just under 50kW of power.

In 2014, we were contacted by Guy Poskitt, Managing Director of MH Poskitt, as they were planning to build an AD and needed assistance with their Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) applications. Once construction neared completion in 2015, the first job was to secure a Preliminary FiT tariff which started with a visit to the site to ensure that the metering had been installed correctly. This ensured the standard required by Ofgem for the RHI and FIT applications was met. Our next step was submitting full FiT and RHI applications to secure the best possible tariffs available. After regular correspondence with Ofgem answering queries during the review process, the FiT accreditation was awarded on 26 January 2016 and the RHI was accredited on the 06 June 2016, so both income streams were secured within a year.

MH Poskitt is now fully account managed by Elisa Evans, an Energy Account Manager at FEC Energy.

Elisa manages many of the company’s energy activities such as:

  • Ongoing RHI and FiT claims - ensuring that the regular payments keep coming in and any mandatory reporting is submitted to Ofgem to remain compliant.
  • Their export contract, known as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the excess electricity the AD produces that is not used on site.
  • Import electricity contracts for all of the supplies on their farms.

By doing so, Elisa makes sure that MH Poskitt gains maximum benefit from their investment in AD. Unlike many AD plants, MH Poskitt uses most of the electricity generated themselves in their crop stores and packhouse. Even then, the total income for 2017 from the FiT, RHI and PPA contract amounted to £356,000. As a fully account managed client, (covering both heat and electricity income streams) MH Poskitt also benefits from monthly reports showing their financial and operational performance month-on-month.

Guy Poskitt from MH Poskitt said: “FEC Energy has made the complicated process of getting our AD plant accredited for the two renewable subsidies hassle free. So much so, that we decided to take advantage of their Energy Account Management service. It freed us up no end to do what we do best… running our business producing a variety of root vegetables.”