INTERVIEW


INDUSTRY NEWS Michael Hinman, Chairman of Silva Ortus Q


Founded two years ago, Silva Ortus, which I believe to mean ‘rising wood’,


is just one company within the Stoneguard Group under your Chairmanship. How does it fit in? A. Since 1963, Stoneguard has undertaken the restoration of landmark buildings such as the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Bank of England and Westminster Abbey in London, as well as on an international basis. Our work in this field has been guided by principles of healthy and ecologically sound construction methods, leading to other areas of building construction, insulation, lighting, heating and now sustainability. Silva Ortus was established to develop plantations of giant bamboo as a source of sustainable energy whilst having a significant and positive impact on the environment.


Q. Your own office in North London is now totally self-sufficient in energy. How did you acquire the expertise to achieve this? A. In 2006, Stoneguard engineered the C60 Research House on the Built Environment Campus at Nottingham University using its own Steel Framing System. Working with many leading companies on this project, we were able to combine technologies to reduce carbon emissions by 85%. This was a 15% improvement on the original aim of the research and far exceeded the UK government’s targets for sustainability. The next step for us was to investigate new forms of sustainable energy for buildings.


Q. How did giant bamboo come into the picture? A. Learning of our interest in sustainable biofuels, we were supplied with a single seed from a unique genus of giant bamboo from the Kingdom of Swaziland, the land-locked country within the Republic of South Africa. Using tissue culture


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stations and other major users, the pellets are simply conveyored into a ship’s hold for export. A single plant will live for 100 years.


Q. What about transport costs in Africa? A. For bamboo to be used as a biofuel, the growing site must be no more than 100 km from a port. Our site in South Africa is less than 50 km from the multi-purpose terminal at the deep-water port of Richards Bay. In Mozambique, we will not export the pellets, but will deliver the chipped biomass to a local coal-fired power station where the chips will be mixed with the coal. By mixing the coal and the bamboo chips (in an 80/20% ratio), this ‘co-firing’ solution offers significant environmental advantages.


multiplication, we were able to propagate thousands of plants and Silva Ortus was in business.


Q. What happens to the seeds? A. It’s an interesting process. At our nursery, the seeds are germinated in glass bell jars filled with a sterile liquid solution containing nutrients. Once germinated, each young plant is subdivided into multiple plants using specific tissue culture techniques. At around three to four months old, the young plants are transferred to black polythene potting bags and moved outside to what are called hardening tunnels, where they are open to the weather and irrigated, but protected from wind and sun damage. The final stage involves planting the bamboo at our project sites at Richards Bay in South Africa and Tete in Mozambique. The planting of the bamboo has to take place in the Summer rainy season, during a short window period between the months of October and February.


Q. How is this done? A. A hole is dug with an auger and the plant dropped in, leaving


a space of five square metres around each plant. The newly planted bamboo needs to be watered during the dry season for three to four years, but is then strong enough to survive on rainfall alone.


Q. Isn’t there a problem with weeds growing between the bamboo plants until they reach maturity? A. Not at all because during the first period of growth, when they still need watering, we use the space to grow garlic as a cash crop for food and medicinal use.


Q. When can the bamboo be harvested? A. Harvesting starts in the sixth year and takes place annually thereafter. By year six, the original plant, now consisting of around 60 culms (trunks), has grown to a height of around 30 metres and approximately 15% of the clump can be cut into 4-5 metre lengths, and chipped in-field. Moisture content in the chips is further reduced before the chips are pelletised and packed into 10 kg or 20 kg bags for domestic use. For power


Q. How do you see the future for giant bamboo as an energy source? A. In Africa, there is a growing need for reliable power supply feedstocks as international companies transfer production to areas with raw materials and a plentiful supply of labour. As a truly sustainable type of biomass, the demand for giant bamboo is certain to rise. It is the fastest growing land plant in the world, regenerates when cut down and produces significantly more material per hectare than hardwood. Bamboo also has a phenomenal environmental impact, sequestering 30% more CO2 than a traditional timber plantation. It grows well anywhere within the Tropics and can survive up to 1,600 metres above sea level given a suitable water supply. Silva Ortus is at the forefront of its development and can provide investors with the opportunity to profit from a reliable source of sustainable energy that is both environmentally-friendly and socially beneficial.


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