EEDA - East of England Development Agency

Waste not, want not – with new renewable energy facility

27 August 2010

A £1.18 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has enabled the construction of a groundbreaking facility in Suffolk, specifically designed to produce renewable energy and to reduce carbon emissions and landfill waste in the East of England.

The facility, which was built and run by Adnams Bio Energy Limited, will inject green gas into the national grid and generate fuel for vehicles by reusing food waste from local businesses, breweries, hotels and restaurants. The facility will also be used as a showcase project, with other businesses encouraged to visit the site to see the potential of the new technology at first hand.

 David Morrall, European director, EEDA said: “Moving towards a low-carbon economy is a necessity, not a choice.  The East of England is the leading region for developing innovative ideas and products in renewable technologies but we still need to work hard to fully exploit the massive international markets available. It is therefore essential that projects like this are used to demonstrate innovative low carbon technology, which will inspire other organisations and businesses to consider similar projects.

Lynn McGoff, technical development manager for Bio Group Ltd explained: “The facility has been designed to take advantage of the most recent developments in this field, and will generate renewable energy which will be made available to the gas grid. Alongside the direct benefits we hope the facility will act as a catalyst for other businesses to consider using the same low-carbon technology. We aim to achieve this by offering companies the chance to come and find out more about the system and, hopefully, look at replicating this model in their own area.” 

David added: “This technology has an excellent track record in the conversion of waste products but its use in the generation of renewable energy is still in its infancy.  The Adnams Bio Energy facility is, therefore, particularly exciting as it is at the forefront of the developments in anaerobic digestion and is a terrific example of how modern technology can be used to reduce waste and lower carbon emissions in the region.”

The anaerobic digester uses naturally occurring bacteria, acting without oxygen, to break down up to 12,000 tonnes of organic waste a year into biogas. As with any process there will be by-products, but even these are reused, with the liquid waste being utilised as fertiliser for farm land and the CO2 produced during the process potentially being used to grow algae, which is in turn recycled through the digester. 

Lynn continued: “The facility has considerable impact on the reduction of carbon emissions in the region, saving at least 50,000 tonnes of CO2 compared to landfill and up to 2,400 tonnes a year from fuel use. That’s the equivalent of just over 3,000 flights from London to New York!”

“The digester will also have a positive impact on the local economy with an estimated 5% saving in landfill costs for every customer who uses the facility and creating new jobs in the area.”

The whole project cost in the region of £2.7 million and benefits from £1,187,397 in funding from the ERDF, which is managed by East of England Development Agency (EEDA) which is also making an additional financial contribution. 

The Adnams Bio Energy facility is on the site of the Adnams brewery at Reydon, Southwold and a waste collection service for local businesses will be established. Any businesses interested finding out more about the facility, and visiting the site, or in providing waste food matter to the digester should contact Lynn McGoff at lynn.mcgoff@crservices.co.uk.

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