(L-R): Charlotte Morton, ADBA Chief Executive; Jørgen Ballermann, Xergi CEO; Mark Poulson, Fred Walter Ltd; Greg Barker MP; Alan Lovell, Tamar Energy Chairman; Willie Heller, Tamar Energy Chief Executive; Fred Walter.

A new anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Retford, Nottinghamshire was officially opened yesterday (20 March) by Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, Greg Barker.

Developed as a joint venture between renewable energy company, Tamar Energy (Tamar) and Sutton Grange Anaerobic Digestion (SGAD), the Retford plant will process agricultural waste, manures and maize from local suppliers in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire.

The resulting ‘nutrient-rich’ biofertiliser created through the AD process will then be offered to local farmers, with heat generated used to dry woodchips for sale to Drax biomass power station in North Yorkshire.

The biogas produced (as a by-product of the AD process) will be converted on-site to generate three megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity, enough to power ‘as many as’ 6,000 homes, with the excess exported to the national grid.

Billed as the UK’s ‘largest on-farm AD facility to date’, the facility is situated on a 2,500 acre farm in Nottinghamshire belonging to SGAD establisher Fred Walter.

‘Energy from waste is an essential part of the energy mix’

After being given a tour of the facility by Tamar Chairman Alan Lovell yesterday, Barker unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the plant.

He said: “Energy from waste is an essential part of the energy mix, it’s a win-win – helping to drive low carbon energy and helping reduce bills for hardworking consumers.

“Tamar Energy’s new anaerobic digestion plant is the largest facility of its kind in the UK and is a great example of how waste can be used to powering homes and businesses across the country. That’s why we have put a range of financial incentives in place to encourage other organisations to rise to the challenge.”

Lovell added: “Having Greg Barker here today to officially open our first Midlands facility is a clear sign of the government’s commitment to supporting AD. It recognises the obvious benefits that the technology can bring to the UK’s renewable energy mix.

“The Retford facility makes a significant contribution to our plan for a flexible national network generating energy from a wide range of organic material, while fulfilling the long-held ambition of Fred Walter and Mark Paulson for an AD plant at Sutton Grange”.

Other projects

Tamar now has three operational AD plants, two in construction and ‘a number of other sites’ in the ‘advanced stages’ of development, as a part of its commitment to create a network of ‘around 40 plants’ by 2018 and generate 100MW of electricity and gas from organic waste.

The two other operational plants are in Basingstoke, Hampshire, processing around 30,000 tonnes of food waste and 1.5MW of renewable energy; and Holbeach Hurn, Lincolnshire, processing around 30,000 tonnes of food waste and producing 1.5MW of electricity.

Tamar Organics, a subsidiary of Tamar, recently signed a £1.7 million contract with Essex County Council (its first with a local authority), to recycle around 54,000 tonnes of food and garden waste collected from 13 Essex authorities.

Find out more about Tamar Energy.