U.K's Largest Anaerobic Digestion Biomass Plant Gets Green Light

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Planning permission has been granted to build the U.K.'s largest anaerobic digestion plant to date. The Selby Renewable Energy Park, owned by Whites Renewable Energy (Grantham, England), has been granted planning permission by North Yorkshire County Council to build the plant on the site of the former Tate & Lyle Citric Acid Plant in Selby, which already boasts one anaerobic digester. The plant will generate 8 megawatts (MW) of energy by treating 165,000 tonnes of food waste per year. The energy created will be sent to the national grid and will power 10,800 homes.

The decision comes hot on the heels of the release of the Renewable Energy Strategy white paper, which outlines the government's increased support and funding for established renewable energy sources like wind and less-established renewable energy technologies such as biomass. For additional information, see related news item from July 21, 2009 - U.K. Outlines Renewable Energy Strategy.

This week, the government also granted consent to MGT Power Limited (London) to forge ahead with the 295-MW Tees biomass-fuelled plant at Teesport, considered to be one of the world's largest biomass projects. The £500 million project will be ready in 2012 and will generate enough power for 600,000 homes. For additional information, see related news item from July 21, 2009 - U.K. Government Approves 295-Megawatt Biomass-Based Power Plant.

The £20 million Selby Renewable Energy Park project will feature a state-of-the-art pre-treatment hall that will allow all forms of packaged food waste from supermarkets, food processors, local authorities and caterers to be processed. The onsite anaerobic digester is currently being updated, and plans exist to build two new digesters. The site already has an existing power connection to the national grid.

"We're delighted to have been granted planning permission to build the U.K.'s largest anaerobic digestion plant and provide a sustainable alternative to landfill for food waste, as well as contribute towards the government's renewable energy targets," said Shaun Flynn, Business Development Manager. "Anaerobic digestion is widely recognised by the government, DEFRA and Friends of the Earth as one of the best solutions for disposing of food waste. Everyone wins, as the waste is treated in a sealed process reducing the generation of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions; a clean, renewable fuel is produced which can be used to create electricity and heat; and we are returning a green, sustainable fertiliser to the land which will in turn grow our crops for food.

"This project will provide a significant boost to the local economy by creating jobs and will also make available a cheap non-fossil-fuel heat source that will attract businesses to the area."

Construction at Selby will begin in September and the plant will be operational in 2010.

Last month, the Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, announced £10 million in funding for the DEFRA Anaerobic Digestion Demonstration Programme, with five projects listed for support. These are: Biocycle South Shropshire (Ludlow), BV Dairy (Shaftesbury, Dorset), GWE Biogas Limited (Eastburn, East Yorkshire), Staples Vegetables (Wrangle, Lincolnshire), and a partnership of United Utilities (LSE:UU) (Warrington, England) and National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) (London). All will be trialling "cutting-edge technology" in an effort to showcase the potential for energy production from anaerobic digestion. The projects will be built between now and March 2011.

According to Benn: "We need to rethink the way we deal with waste--we must see it as a resource, not a problem. In the U.K. we produce 100 million tonnes of food and other organic waste every year that we could be using to create enough heat and energy to run over 2 million homes--that's five Birminghams.

"This new technology will provide a source of renewable energy while reducing methane emissions from agriculture and landfill by diverting organic waste, especially food waste, from landfill."

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage of the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and now expanding coverage across the world.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.