Renewable energy company, Emerald Biogas Ltd, has announced that its new anaerobic digestion (AD) plant is now ‘open for business’.

The £8 million facility, based at Newton Aycliffe Industrial Estate, is the ‘first’ commercial food waste facility to begin operating in the County Durham region.

Operations

The plant will process 50,000 tonnes of the region’s food waste (although planning permission has already been secured to expand the capacity to four times the current size), generating enough energy to power 2,000 homes each year.

As well as organic waste, the combined heat and power (CHP) system at Newton Aycliffe can also process card, plastics and other materials often associated with waste from supermarkets, fast food outlets, businesses and schools. The materials are then sent to local recycling facilities, diverting it from landfill and ‘contributing to the vision of a sustainable, circular economy'.

In addition to power generation, the AD process will produce a ‘digestate’ (which can be used by local farmers as an alternative to chemically manufactured fertilisers) that claims to ‘increase organic matter as well as improving soil condition and structure’.

“Good for the environment and good for businesses”

The funding for the project was made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union.

New Resource Minister, Dan Rogerson, welcomed the opening of the plant, saying: “Dealing with waste and recycling properly is good for the environment and good for businesses, creating a stronger economy and jobs. Our AD loan fund has helped to support the development of this plant which will treat food waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and recycle valuable nutrients back to the land.”

Antony Warren, Director of Emerald Biogas added: “I am delighted with the progress made in terms of getting the plant to this stage. It is fantastic to see it up and running, as this truly is a one of a kind facility in the North East and the first in the region to begin operating. We are now in the position to accept and process unwanted commercial food waste and employ the latest AD technology to create a valued commodity that will be extremely beneficial to the local business and farming community.

“We are all excited for the positive journey ahead, with expansion a strong possibility, as we would like to see Emerald Biogas reach its full potential in the near future.”

Construction company Entec Biogas GmBH said it was ‘really pleased’ to be able to deliver the work ‘on budget and on time’.

Berhard Schulz, CEO of Entec, continued: “The team has worked hard to ensure a successful commissioning phase and to enable the plant to start the next stage, processing waste and creating energy.”

AD expansion

The new plant follows a growing trend of investment in AD in the UK. Figures published by bioeconomy consultants National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) and the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) earlier this year, found that there are now 106 AD plants operating in the UK, nearly double the amount as of September 2011, when a baseline report was published.

The increase in investment follows on from growing pressure to recycle more materials, and comes after a report by independent thinktank CentreForum indicated that the government was failing to realise the potential of biogas energy.

Emerald Biogas is owned by food and animal by-products recycling company, John Warren ABP, and plasterboard recycling business, Agricore.

Read more about the Rural Development Programme for Englandand the rise of AD operations in Britain.