District's '˜Cash for Ash' companies have claimed more than £720k

The Department of the Economy has published the names of most claimants under the taxpayer-funded scheme - including seven in Banbridge and Dromore who between them have claimed more than £720,000.

The list reveals that a number of local claimants are operating several biomass boilers. Two - a poultry farm and an engineering firm - have received payments totalling more than £100,000, while another - John Hogg & Co Ltd in Banbridge - installed 12 99 kilowatt-thermal (KWTH) boilers and has claimed payments totalling more than £400,000.

A number of businesses are based at the 19-acre Castlewellan Road site, which is also used as a film location for hit TV show Game of Thrones.

A spokesperson for John Hogg and Co Ltd revealed that the RHI boilers provide renewable heating for tenants at the site.

“In pursuit of John Hogg Operational’s award winning Zero Carbon Sustainability Action Plan, biomass boilers are used to provide 100 per cent renewable heating for all tenants on our Banbridge site,” the company spokesperson said.

“Installed, operated and maintained in accordance with energy management best practice, biomass technology is making a positive contribution to climate change mitigation, energy security, job security and local business development.”

There is no suggestion that any of those on the list are in breach of either the spirit or the letter of the controversial scheme.

However, the department has taken the view that because so much public money is involved the names should be made public.

The department said that the list includes the names of all limited companies and limited liability partnerships that have received support payments under the scheme above a threshold of £5,000, for the period from the opening of the scheme in 2012 to February 28, 2017.

The department has said that “work is progressing on a separate list which will contain the names of the individuals who are in receipt of payments of £5,000 or more under the non-domestic scheme” and that it intends to publish that list “in the next few weeks once it has considered the individual cases in line with the content of the High Court judgement”.

Claimants from the BT25 (Dromore) and BT32 (Banbridge) postcode areas are listed below (Name of business/organisation; Date of application; Postcode; Boiler type; Size (KWTH); Total payments as of February 28, 2017):

BMS Technology Ltd 05/01/2015 BT25 Solid Biomass Boiler 35 £15,329.98

Corbally Poultry Farm Ltd 28/02/2016 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 50 £3,282.90

Corbally Poultry Farm Ltd 07/06/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £44,191.43

Corbally Poultry Farm Ltd 08/06/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £44,852.18 Corbally Poultry Farm Ltd 28/02/2016 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 199 £6,845.75

Corbally Poultry Farm Ltd 28/02/2016 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 199 £6,052.67

Downshire Arms Hotel Ltd 09/11/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £12,598.38

Green Energy Engineering (GEE) Ltd 19/05/2015 BT25 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £18,865.80

Green Energy Engineering (GEE) Ltd 30/10/2015 BT25 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £26,090.27

Green Energy Engineering (GEE) Ltd 14/01/2014 BT25 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £63,061.18

Green Energy Engineering (GEE) Ltd 29/02/2016 BT25 Solid Biomass Boiler 25 £603.65

Green Energy Engineering (GEE) Ltd 09/11/2015 BT25 Solid Biomass Boiler 25 £1,662.33

JC Donald Ltd 09/11/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £52,394.99

John Hogg & Co Ltd 20/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £17,685.61

John Hogg & Co Ltd 20/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £22,366.66

John Hogg & Co Ltd 15/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £23,985.04

John Hogg & Co Ltd 15/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £24,370.63

John Hogg & Co Ltd 14/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £30,399.07

John Hogg & Co Ltd 14/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £31,113.34

John Hogg & Co Ltd 18/09/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £36,952.82

John Hogg & Co Ltd 16/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £37,797.30

John Hogg & Co Ltd 27/10/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £39,900.15

John Hogg & Co Ltd 12/08/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £42,350.44

John Hogg & Co Ltd 18/09/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £49,208.60

John Hogg & Co Ltd 02/02/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 99 £61,192.63

Precision Heating NI Ltd 29/09/2015 BT32 Solid Biomass Boiler 48 £7,582.40

• Check out the full non-domestic RHI claimant list by clicking here.