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Many forests around the world have been illegally destroyed by regimes eager to cash in on the high prices that premium teak fetches on the open market. It is estimated by National Geographic magazine that the last remaining rainforests could be destroyed within 40 years. The world consumption of hardwood has grown by nearly 2500% in the last four decades.

It is said that the average male living in the industrialized western world produces about
160 tons of damaging CO2 every 16 years. One hectare of teak consumes around 320 tons in the same period.

We work with private and institutional investors, building portfolios of commercially sustainable teak plantations that benefit the planet not only in terms of CO2 reduction but also by supplying properly sourced timber which reduces the pressure on the world’s natural rainforests. Additionally, of course, it provides the potential to earn excellent returns for investors over the medium to long term.

Teak has been highly valued worldwide throughout history. Many cultures began using teak wood for shipbuilding in the Middle Ages, and its buoyancy, water resistance, durability and anti-fungal properties make it an ideal material for marine construction to this day.

The species of teak that we grow is Tectona Grandis, which is one of the tropical hardwood birches. Teak flourishes in the rainy season; then during the dry season the trees shed their leaves and growth slows; allowing the wood to harden.

Teak is regularly pruned so that it grows straight and tall with no other limbs extending from the trunk area. By pruning away most of the leaves other than the top third the highest quality of wood is produced. Regular management ensures that the teak trees are kept in premium condition and achieve high values when the wood is harvested.

Teak is beautiful, water resistant and durable, and is one of the few woods that produces its own oil, which keeps it from becoming brittle. Once established in the forest, teak is virtually indestructible and highly resistant to pests, fire and most diseases.

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The much debated, tweeted, blogged and indeed refreshing government legislation, the feed-in tariff, which is to become reality on April 1 could transform micro-generation from cottage industry to nationwide norm within the next few years according to Steven Harris. Harris, as head of low carbon technologies at the Energy Savings Trust (EST) believes that with the tariff legislation in place, the UK will be in good shape to see a large scale uptake of renewable technologies, something which he believes only a few years ago would have been incomprehensible.

“The poor old cottage industry of renewable energy will not know what’s hit it. People could be forgiven for waiting to install these technologies up until this point, but once the tariff comes in, things could change rapidly,” states Harris who certainly knows how difficult it has been to bring about a change in attitudes towards the viabilty and importance of green technologies.

Harris who along with his colleague Bill Dunstar created the BedZed village project featuring carbon neutral housing in the Surrey commuter town of Wallington ten years ago can easily recall the derision which green ideas were met with at the time. The project which was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2003 highlighted the potential feasibility of sustainable materials and carbon neutral building at a time when such ideas were far from the mainstream. Harris recalls,

“It’s amazing when you sit in meetings now; people are saying exactly the same stuff that was laughed at when we were starting BedZed. Back then, things such as using reclaimed materials, sustainability assessments, local sourcing, having an ecological footprint… they were just not on the construction agenda, let alone the housing agenda.”

With the introduction of the feed-in tariff at the beginning of next month the situation has changed dramatically for micro-generation projects such as BedZed pioneered by Harris and Dunstar. The tariff will offer small-scale generators of green energy guaranteed, premium rates for energy fed-back in to the national grid and will thereby seek to offset the obvious costs involved in installing renewable technologies. With annual returns of £500 expected for households with solar PV installed, the industry is hopeful that the solar industry has the potential to take off with the backing of the tariff.

Steven Harris certainly believes that solar micro-generation could become widespread with the tariff mechanism incentivising investment and see the BedZed project become reality within the next decade.

“Solar technology has really moved forward. In China, it’s illegal not to put thermal solar on your roof, but they have the advantage of a totalitarian state. The fact that they have to manufacture panels for billions of people has really driven down the cost of solar. I know when we first started BedZed, the payback on a panel was around 75 years; now it’s about 12.”

Tags: BedZed, Energy Bill, feed in tariff, FIT, investment, renewable energy, solar, solar energy, Solar Feed In Tariff, solar fit, solar industry, solar investment, solar panels, solar power, solar products