Sugar factory to become site for UK's biggest AD plant

North Yorkshire County Council has granted permission to Selby Renewable Energy Park (SREP) to build a £20 million state of the art pre-treatment hall that will process 165,000 tonnes of food waste per year, generating eight megawatts (MW) of energy. Food waste from supermarkets, food processors, local authorities and caterers will all be able to be treated at the plant.

The development is expected to create 120 new jobs for Selby, and enough energy for 10,800 homes – or the whole of Selby – and will potentially provide a low-cost heat source for local businesses with all electricity generated being sent to the National Grid.

The UK produces over 100 million tonnes of organic material per year from food waste, livestock slurries, sewage sludge and energy crops, all of which could be converted to produce biogas. The Government wants to develop the widespread use of AD to produce energy and help the UK meet its targets on carbon emission reductions.

A report published earlier this year by the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) suggests AD could produce 7.5 per cent of the renewable power the UK will need by 2020.

Shaun Flynn, SREP Business Development manager, said  the Selby plant would provide a sustainable alternative to landfill for food waste as well as contribute towards the Government's renewable energy targets. "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.”

SREP has already received support from the Government-backed Future Energy Yorkshire, which was established to help promote renewable energy projects in Yorkshire and Humber.

Jo Adlard, project manager with Future Energy Yorkshire, part of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward, said: “The Yorkshire and Humber region has an important role to play in helping the UK to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed Selby Renewable Energy Park will contribute to our regional emissions reduction targets by generating renewable energy for export to the Grid, while diverting large quantities of waste from landfill.”

 Construction of the site is expected to commence in September and the plant will become operational in 2010.