Quarry firm lands £20,000 council grant for equipment to cut carbon emissions at Brassington site

Longcliffe Quarries has been awarded a grant of £20,000 from Derbyshire County Council’s green entrepreneurs fund for new equipment at its Brassington site which will significantly reduce its energy consumption and cut greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 40,000 kilograms each year.

Director Ian McDonald said: “This funding will allow us to install variable frequency drives onto the process line which will provide us with enhanced motor control as well as the ability to drive our energy consumption down.

“We’re working towards installing and commissioning the new equipment by the end of the year which will help us on our challenging pathway of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2027.”

The council partnered with the University of Derby to launch the £2million fund in March and support a green economic recovery across Derbyshire.

It offers financial assistance to businesses and organisations interested in developing and investing in green energy and carbon reduction schemes, as well as people looking to retrain for the alternative energy sector.

Councillor Tony King said: “This is a really exciting milestone for the Green Entrepreneurs Fund which is offering businesses the confidence and financial back-up they need to help turn their pioneering ideas into reality.

“These projects will help us along on our journey to cutting the county’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.”

He added: “By championing this type of business innovation, we believe that Derbyshire can become a leader in the field in the development of green energy.

“It is a unique opportunity to bring greater benefits to local communities and local economic conditions, creating high quality jobs utilising the local skills base in engineering and manufacturing.”

University vice chancellor Kathryn Mitchell said: “It is exciting to see the first businesses using the fund and we look forward to working with more of the entrepreneur community to make Derbyshire synonymous with sustainable business.”

Learn more about the fund at derbyshire.gov.uk/gef.

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