The Norfolk town of Attleborough has become one of the first "green communities" in the UK, following the completion of development works at a local anaerobic digestion (AD) plant.
The £17 million (€19m) upgrade project was led by carbon mitigation project funders, Privilege Finance, with the operation of the site being managed by Eco Verde Energy.
Marc Graham, leading the project on behalf of Privilege Finance, said the Attleborough project was particularly special due to its potential to create a circular economy - meaning the town's organic waste would be utilised to power homes and businesses.
“The plant has the capacity to take up to 100,000 tonnes of food and organic waste annually. This will be collected from local households and businesses to generate renewable energy that will be used by the same local households and businesses,” he added.
Graham explained that this process will replace over 11,000 tonnes of natural gas per annum with renewable gas, saving additional green house gases being released into the atmosphere.
The AD plant is capable of producing 87 gigawatt hours of biomethane per annum, enough to supply 4,000 Attleborough homes, meeting 100% of the town’s gas needs during the summer months and 50% during the colder, winter months.
“The locality of the plant is a huge advantage for food and organic waste businesses that need to dispose of materials,” Graham continued.
“Having a renewable energy from waste facility close by, helps these organisations to improve their carbon footprint, something which is high on businesses’ radars as they look to present a more sustainable approach to how they operate.”
Graham added that previously, organic waste generated by commercial businesses was transported out-of-county, but with the opening of a local plant, local businesses will see a direct benefit of their waste being used to meet local gas demands as well as reducing the emissions from road transport through the reduction in distances waste is transported.
“Not only that, the plant will also create eight new jobs initially, with numerous other employment opportunities within the local waste supply chain,” concluded Graham.
AD plant upgrade creates UK’s “first green community”
