Green Entrepreneurs grant for Longcliffe Quarries

18 May, 2023

Visiting the site of the successful Longcliffe project (L-R): Mark Wheddon, University of Derby, head of delivery – Green Entrepreneurs Programme; Maria Marsden, University of Derby, project delivery & monitoring officer – Green Entrepreneurs Programme; James McDonald, Longcliffe’s control systems engineer; Mark Whittaker, Longcliffe’s operational improvements manager; and Karl Apps, Derbyshire County Council assistant director for sustainable growth

£20,000 grant from Derbyshire County Council delivers energy-efficiency savings at Brassington Moor

A £20,000 grant from Derbyshire County Council’s ‘Green Entrepreneurs Programme’* has helped Longcliffe Quarries improve their sustainability through a reduction in energy consumption of 137,500kW per year.

The company, which operates two limestone quarries near Matlock, in Derbyshire, used the grant to make up the funding required to install three new electrical power inverters to control the fan systems at its Brassington Moor Quarry. The fans pull air through a mill to separate different sizes of high-purity calcium carbonate mineral for use in products such as animal feed, adhesives and fertilizers.

By installing this new technology, the fans now run at a slower speed, but are equally as effective as the previous mechanical equipment, saving on electricity consumption and delivering a reduction in carbon footprint for the company of 32,056kg of carbon dioxide per year.

Longcliffe’s development director, Ian McDonald, hosted a visit from representatives from Derbyshire County Council and the University of Derby to see the new equipment at work.

He said: ‘The funding from the Green Entrepreneurs Programme enabled us to go ahead with this project to retrofit ‘inverters’ on our powders processing plant fan systems. As predicted, by installing this newer technology, we have been able to significantly reduce our electricity usage and, in turn, help reduce our carbon footprint.’

Councillor Tony King, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration, said: ‘Longcliffe were one of the first local businesses to receive a grant from the Green Entrepreneurs Programme and it’s great to see their carbon-cutting project having such a positive impact.

‘We’re committed to helping Derbyshire become a net-zero county by 2050 and the Green Entrepreneurs Programme is helping many local businesses to play their part in achieving this ambitious target to help tackle climate change.’

Mark Wheddon, head of delivery for the Green Entrepreneurs Programme, said: ‘The University of Derby is delighted to have supported Longcliffe Quarries Ltd with the Green Entrepreneurs Programme grant award and we look forward to working with them on further collaborative opportunities for additional carbon reduction measures in the future.’

*The Green Entrepreneurs Programme is Derbyshire County Council’s £2 million grant fund programme, run in collaboration with the University of Derby, to help businesses, organizations, communities and individuals interested in developing skills in the green economy and investing in green energy and carbon reduction schemes.