All 16 homes in a small Dorset community have switched to a 100% BioLPG heating tariff in a project intended to demonstrate how rural properties can reduce their heating-related emissions without replacing existing boilers or fuel-storage infrastructure.
The initiative, organised by energy supplier Calor and championed by residents of Witchampton Mill, is expected to deliver annual greenhouse gas emissions savings of approximately 79 tonnes, according to company estimates.
Like many rural communities that are not connected to the mains gas network, households at Witchampton Mill rely on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for heating. BioLPG offers a renewable alternative that can be used in existing LPG heating systems without modifications to boilers, tanks or associated equipment.
The fuel can be produced from renewable feedstocks, including certain waste oils and fats, although its lifecycle emissions depend on the materials and production processes used.
Calor says BioLPG can deliver carbon emissions reductions of up to 84% compared with conventional LPG. The company calculated the estimated annual savings for Witchampton Mill using projected fuel consumption and the UK Government’s 2026 greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors.
The announcement does not specify the feedstocks used to produce the BioLPG supplied under the tariff, or whether the renewable fuel is physically delivered to participating households or allocated through a supply-chain accounting arrangement.
The community-wide switch was championed by resident Kate Fenton Smith, who said the ability to reduce emissions without requiring households to invest in replacement heating systems had been central to securing support.
“We wanted to find a way to reduce the carbon impact of heating our homes that would work for everyone, so the fact that we could make the switch easily and without any changes was incredibly important,” she said.
Alastair Lovell, Head of Sustainable Fuels at Calor, said the project illustrated an option for other off-grid communities seeking to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
The wider potential for BioLPG in domestic heating will depend partly on the availability of sustainably sourced renewable feedstocks, production capacity and the cost of the fuel relative to conventional LPG and alternative low-carbon heating technologies.
