A new power plant that recovers used cooking oil to produce electricity has been officially opened in North Yorkshire.
Run by the Renewable Energy Generation’s (REG) Bio-Power, the £6-million facility at Whitemoor Business Park in Selby, North Yorkshire, processes used cooking oil to produce electricity.
Used cooking oil is collected by local councils and waste contractors, including Selby District Council, before being taken to REG’s Living Fuels’ recovery facility in Hockwold cum Wilton, Norfolk, where it is subject to ‘natural gravitational settling’ before being filtered into a bioliquid called LF100.
This is then transported to the Whitemoor facility for combustion, which can be provide up to eight megawatts of ‘carbon neutral’ energy to the National Grid at times of ‘unexpected power demand’.
The Whitemoor power plant, REG Bio-Power’s fifth, and biggest power plant, was officially opened by local MP Nigel Adams (pictured, right) on 23 January.
‘First successfully built and commissioned project of its type in the UK’
Andrew Whalley, Chief Executive Officer of the REG Group, said: “The addition of Whitemoor into our fleet of projects powered by our patented bio-liquid is significant. Not only does it increase REG Bio-Power's operational output to 26 megawatts but is also the first successfully built and commissioned project of its type in the UK.”
Ian Collins, Managing Director at REG Living Fuels, added: “We are delighted to introduce a greener initiative into the Selby area. The new power plant will allow north Yorkshire communities to make a substantial difference in moving towards sustainable living.
“Recovering waste cooking oil to create electricity is incredibly good for the environment. Not only are our sites producing much-needed renewable energy but anyone who recycles their waste cooking oil is also helping cut the UK taxpayers’ £15-million bill for repairing drains clogged with fat caused when oil is tipped down the sink.”
He added that the LF100 fuel has produced 90,000 hours of electricity to date.
Find out more about Living Fuels.
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