Looks to me near identical to a hopper with archimedes screw for a biomass boiler and certainly doesn't look to be that old at all. The ventilation is essential to ensure that the moisture content of the pellets remains within acceptable limits. The housing for the presumed biomass boiler certainly doesn't demonstrate any age and neither does the flues which can easily tarnish. I've seen lots of similar systems through the planning process so would be very surprised if it were anything other than a biomass system.
Could the age of the system be a confusion with an oil fired system that may have been in this location prior to the conversion to biomass where there may have been a previous green tank in the location for many years that may have fired a boiler in the older of the two outbuildings in the photograph. There should be a record of it on the planning portal for the relevent council if it is indeed a newish installation.
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