Ecotricity announces third Green Gas Mill biomethane plant

Ecotricity has announced it is to develop a third Green Gas Mill, a new green energy site in Somerset, UK, that will generate enough gas from grass to power up to 2,500 homes.

The company launched its first Green Gas Mill project in Gloucestershire back in April, with a second announced in August in Hampshire, while a fourth is also due to be unveiled before the end of the year.

Green Gas Mills will make biomethane from grass using anaerobic digestion, which will then be directly fed into the national grid to replace fossil fuel gas.

Ecotricity says is not only the produced gas carbon neutral, but the process also supports food production, improves land quality, ensures wildlife habitats are created, and financially assists local farmers who supply the grass.

Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, says: "We are at the beginning of a revolution in gas, not from fracking but from farms. There's a whole new industry waiting to be created here, meaning more jobs and plenty of economic benefits.

‘We can't continue using gas from fossil fuels, we are running out and causing climate change. The great thing about green gas, like green electricity, is we can still live the way we're used to, but we can do so in a sustainable way.’

According to Vince, making biomethane from grass doesn't compete with food production, but actually supports it and the farmers working the land.

‘It also helps wildlife, creating new habitats and there's enough non-food producing farmland in Britain in principal to meet 95% of the gas we need this way,’ he continues.