By Vicki Hawthorne

A farmer who has 10 boilers installed as part of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme has spoken to UTV about his experiences during the heating scandal.

Poultry farmer Fred Maxwell, from Augher in Co Tyrone, has been named by the Department of Economy on another list of beneficiaries of the scheme.

Mr Maxwell was one of the first farmers to install RHI biomass boilers on his farm in 2013.

He says the system has helped him become more self-sufficient and he now produces healthier birds, practically eradicating the need for antibiotics in his flock.

In the latest list of Renewable Heat Incentive scheme beneficiaries released by the Department of Economy, Fred Maxwell is shown to have received more than £900,000 in payments since he joined.

But he says he has invested almost £2m installing the boilers and continues to have huge payments for servicing them and to keep up his bank loans.

Mr Maxwell said: "I'm still £1m down, which on the new tariff there's no way I can recoup that."

Credit: UTV

It has been estimated that the RHI scheme could cost the taxpayer £490m over the next 20 years.

But the political fallout and the public outcry since the scandal was exposed has led to the Department of Economy reducing the original more generous tariffs to boiler owners.

The list published on Wednesday details of individuals who have signed up to RHI.

It shows that in total more than £62m has been paid out to businesses and individuals with RHI boilers since 2013.

Credit: UTV

In March, a list of more than 400 businesses was released.

However, being included on either list does not imply that the business or person has done anything wrong.

Meanwhile, Fred Maxwell doesn't believe the potential overspend is as big as first reported. He also disputes reports of one user heating an empty shed.

During a court hearing last week, a judge was told that a recent government report found that there was no evidence that either the poultry or mushroom industries were misusing the scheme in anyway.

But the ongoing controversy surrounding RHI has made many users reluctant to speak out.

Credit: UTV

Fred Maxwell said: "There's not a night you don't think about it.

"The children talk about it, the wife talks about it, your mum talks about it. The children are at university, their friends know your dad's a chicken farmer, you must have biomass, is he a crook?"

Fred Maxwell is part of a group of RHI boiler owners who are preparing to go to court next month to challenge the reduction in their payments.They say the government is breaking its promises and they can't afford to pay for its mistakes.

But it will be down to the RHI inquiry, expected to sit publicly in the Autumn, to get to the truth of exactly what went wrong.