The owner of a cart racing track who used the so-called cash-for-ash scheme in Northern Ireland has said that he switched to wood pellets to take advantage of the generous government grants and not because of family connections.
Aaron Brimstone, owner of Lakeland Karting in Co Fermanagh, is the brother of Stephen Brimstone, a former senior adviser to Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s first minister.
Stephen Brimstone has confirmed that he also used the scheme, although the full circumstances of how are unclear. He was paid £92,000 (€109,000) a year as Ms Foster’s special adviser but resigned last month to pursue commercial interests.
Ms Foster has since said that his departure had no connection to being a claimant under the renewable heat incentive programme, which could cost taxpayers more than £400 million in the next 20 years.
The initiative was designed to encourage businesses to switch from burning fossil fuels to wood biomass but paid out more than the fuel cost. The flawed scheme meant that users earned more if they burned more, leading to allegations that some buildings were being heated unnecessarily.
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Aaron Brimstone’s name was brought into the controversy after it emerged that he replaced the gas boiler at Lakeland Karting with a wood pellet burning system and was receiving the rebate of £1.60 for every £1 of wood pellets purchased. The wood pellet burner now heats the office, kitchen, toilets, viewing area and garage attached to the race track.
Lakeland Karting was launched by Ms Foster in 2012 and she was photographed driving around the track.
Yesterday Aaron Brimstone said that several renewable energy companies came to Lakeland Karting offering to switch his heating system to a wood pellet burner. He said his decision to go ahead had nothing to do with his brother’s government position.
He eventually settled on Enerpower, a Waterford-based biomass installer, which used the Lakeland installation as an example on its website to attract business in Northern Ireland. Its website says that those who sign up for the scheme will earn money every time they use their wood pellet burner. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on Enerpower’s or Aaron Brimstone’s part because the scheme was approved by the Northern Irish government.
Aaron Brimstone’s version of events is consistent with other business owners in Northern Ireland who have said that they had many visits from renewable energy companies offering to switch to wood pellets.
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There was a large spike in applications when the scheme was about to be modified last autumn.
Mr Brimstone recalls that he was told at the time that the government had to promote switching to wood pellets or they would not hit European carbon emission targets by 2020.
Mr Brimstone, whose wife is a former DUP councillor, eventually settled on Premium Pellets in Drogheda, Co Louth, as his supplier. The company buys wood pellets from a sawmill in Latvia. The wood comes from pine and spruce trees grown under EU regulation.
John Brick, one of the owners of Premium Pellets, said that the heating scheme had been good for business. He said that 70 per cent of its pellets were bought by people in Northern Ireland.
He said that the pellets complied with European environmental standards and had helped major power plants to reduce their carbon emissions.
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Jonathan Bell, Northern Ireland’s former enterprise minister and a DUP MLA, recently claimed that Stephen Brimstone was present during a stand-off between him and Ms Foster, when he urged her and her advisers to shut down the scheme. Stephen Brimstone has denied being at the meeting.
He has since said that his own application under the scheme was inspected by auditors, who gave him written confirmation that it was compliant with the scheme’s regulations.
He has yet to clarify how he used the scheme and on what date he applied.
The UUP and the Traditional Unionist Voice have called on the DUP to release the details of those in government who used the scheme.