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SIXTEEN bright sparks representing Cornwall's agricultural industry are fully charged with ideas, after an Austrian study trip gave them first-hand experience of some of the world's leading renewable energy schemes.

The trip to Wels, near Linz, was the third and final leg of the Renewable Energy Study Programme, organised by Cornwall Enterprise and the Cornwall Agri-food Council, to discover how different kinds of cutting-edge renewable technology might be replicated on farms here in Cornwall.

In particular, this tour focused upon successful biomass energy schemes, where local farmers use chipped and pelletised wood to provide heat and power for their nearby villages.

Nicky Garge, of Cornwall Enterprise, said: "Renewable energy is an important growth area for farms, but the range of technology can be bewildering.

This trip has given local farmers a practical chance to see some of Europe's leaders for themselves, and find out which models might work best at home in Cornwall".

While in Austria the group, which included farmers, landowners and public sector managers, joined 950 participants from over 61 different countries at the World Sustainable Energy Days; Europe's largest annual renewables conference.

Other site visits during the trip included Linz Solar City; a biomass plant on the Danube supplying heat and green electricity; and Gasokol, one of the leading producers of solar thermal panels.

The Solar City Project is an integrated solar village of 1,300 households. Individual homes are built to make the most of the lie of the land, with greenhouses, winter gardens, balconies and orientations that benefit from the climate and nature surrounding them.

Solar installations make the neighbourhood completely independent and even allow it to return a surplus to the city's energy grid.

Farmers who would like to find out more about renewable energy generation can contact Nicky Garge of Cornwall Enterprise on 01209 616094.

The sixteen-strong group included farmers, landowners and public sector managers

The sixteen-strong group included farmers, landowners and public sector managers

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