• »Bangor Home
• »Wales Energy Crops Information Centre

SRC economics calculator

The calculator is based on a yield estimates of 8oven dried tonnes/ha (odt/ha) (16 fresh-weight t/ha) as this is a yield that should be achieved by most growers. Yields can be much higher than with yields of over 12 odt/ha possible in some areas/seasons. You can enter details below based on your own knowledge of local costs.. This is a basic calculator to give you a rough idea of likely revenue and costs. It is not a substitute for a full economic feasibility assessment. As a starting point we would suggest 15,000 to 18,000 willow cuttings/ha with a unit cost of 7p/cutting. Labour costs should be included for each operation. The “Farm Management Pocketbook” by John Nix ISBN 0-9541201-4-0 is a useful guide for working out the costs associated with various operations and enterprises.

Cost of establishing 1 ha SRC

Cost of annual management and harvesting 1 ha of SRC as wood chip

A yield of 16 fresh tonnes/ha can be assumed. At 50% moisture this would be 8 odt/ha and is a conservative yield estimate. The annualised cost of production assumes a conservative 20 year life span for the crop. In practice the lifespan of the crop is thought to exceed 25 years. Please note that figures below are annualised. Willow is generally harvested every 3 years. If you receive a quote for harvesting of £300 every 3 years this figure needs to be divided by 3 to be entered into the calculator.

Pre-em herbicide at start of season

MARGIN CALCULATIONS based on 16 t/ha fresh weight yield (8 odt/ha)

Two examples are provided here. The price you will receive will be dependent on current market prices and individual end users. Wood chip prices are highly variable. £30/odt is assumed to be the lower end of the scale, £35/odt which is at the medium price range of the scale. Wood chip can fetch in the region of £40/odt at the high end of the scale. By entering data into the cells below you can gain a feel for the effect that varying prices can have on margins. All values in the calculator are based on oven dry tonnes (odt) and are annualised. You may be offered a price for the harvested end product , based on either harvested fresh weight, or oven dried tonnes, in addition delivery may or may not be taken into account. To use the calculator you may need to convert a fresh weight price to an odt price. The energy calculator link on the main miscanthus page of the website can help with this.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information provided in this website is correct, CALU/ADAS cannot be held responsible for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of its content. Any figures given are indicative only and will vary dependent upon each individual site’s geographic and management characteristics.