Members of the Bourne U3A Science & Technology Group have visited the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant to gain a better understanding of how the plant generates renewable electricity by burning straw that is supplied by farmers in and around Lincolnshire.

The U3A group followed the process from the straw first arriving at the plant, through to when the straw is burned in a boiler to produce high temperature, high pressure steam, and which is then used to drive a steam turbine generator.  The 40MW power station, which has been operating since 2014, supplies electricity for the equivalent of 65,000 homes and supplies heat to five public buildings in Sleaford.   

U3A, which stands for the University of the Third Age, is a self-help organisation for people no longer in full-time employment providing educational, creative and leisure opportunities in a friendly environment.  The Bourne Science & Technology Group meets once a month to listen to invited speakers who talk on many diverse subjects ranging from food production, engine production, church organs through to electricity grid developments and the Group also visits different places of interest.

Roger Callow of Bourne U3A said: “The visit was a great opportunity for us to see first-hand the production of renewable energy from straw, as we live surrounded by many thousands of acres of arable crops, a local resource.  In some respects the visit was the icing on the cake for those members of our group who attended one of our meetings last year where we were given a talk on the manufacture and development of steam turbines.  Making all aspects of renewable energy production available for us to view under one roof was an opportunity not to miss and I would like to thank the team at Sleaford  Renewable Energy Plant  for making our visit a most enjoyable and informative one.”