Last updated 13:26, Thursday, 30 October 2008

GREEN is the colour for one of the North Tyne’s best known family businesses.

For Milburn Joinery and Fencing from Birtley is branching out into the wood energy business.

After nearly 20 years of running the sawmill at Wark, Hughie Milburn – along with his sons Peter and Jason, daughter Rachel and son-in-law Andrew Tilley – is responding to the clamour for cleaner, greener energy.

And with the price of oil, electricity and gas going through the roof, and oil reserves said to be running out rapidly, what better way to meet that demand than by turning to the product they have been involved with all their working lives?

Hughie said: “More and more people are becoming more and more conscious of the effect that burning fossil fuels can have on the environment.

“They want to do their bit to put the brakes on climate change, and using wood energy is the most effective way of becoming carbon neutral.”

While log fires may look warm and cosy on a winter’s night, not everyone has the time or the inclination to chop and stack logs, or to build up the fire every hour or so.

Modern wood energy involves highly efficient biomass boilers, which power homes just as well as more conventional oil or gas boilers but at a fraction of the cost.

And the impact on the environment is minimal, producing only a tenth of the C02 of oil and with the added advantage that timber is a renewable resource, unlike fossil fuels

The boilers can be powered either by wood pellet, chips or logs, which Milburns can supply, as well as installing and maintaining the boilers.

Andrew said: “We are acting as agents for Econergy, who are the market leaders in wood energy in this country.

“I believe that wood energy is the future, as we have all the wood we need locally, and do not have to rely on pipelines from Russia for gas, and we are not at the mercy of the oil barons with their price rises.

“Biomass heating is a mature and proven technology all over Europe, which yields major benefits to all users. There are substantial reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, and it also supports the rural economy.”

For further details of the scheme ring (01434) 230970 or 07969 252659, or email andrewatilley@btinternet .com