Green energy vital to country estate, says new administrator
The Rhug Estate near Llangollen is continuing its emphasis on sustainability with the appointment of Alice Salisbury-Arndt.
Lord Newborough, who moved from Shropshire to take over the estate in 1998, has diversified – a farm shop, an organic meat business and a renewable energy company make up the estate. The capacity of the renewable energy schemes on the estate ranges from 4KW to 1.2MW, and generated electricity is either used onsite or exported to the grid.
Alice Salisbury-Arndt is the new estate administrator with responsibility for the estate’s built property and renewable energy.
Lord Newborough said: “I have championed the highest standards of organic and sustainable farming for many years, protecting and enhancing the environment for future generations. Our heat and power generation from renewable sources totals more than 3,500 MWh per annum now, utilising technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels, hydro-electric turbines, wind turbines, and heat-pumps.
“Most of the electricity we generate is exported to the grid, but we also use it in the retail premises, the offices and we offer electric vehicle charging to the public, next to our farm shop. I am delighted to welcome Alice to Rhug, she will be an asset to our estates team with her freshly qualified outlook on environmental management and her local farming knowledge.”
Alice is from a farming background, having grown up on a beef and sheep farm near Wrexham.
She said “I’m delighted to be working with Lord Newborough and the team at Rhug.
"Rhug Estate is such a diverse business and yet at its core is organic farming. Knowing that I’m helping to maintain an estate filled with so much history, but also looking to future sustainability with the help of renewables, is so rewarding for me personally.”
