New Veolia biogas plant helps Gloucestershire reduce food waste going to landfill

Rose Hill Recycling has awarded a contract to Veolia to design and manage a 520kWe biogas-fired waste-based CHP energy plant in the UK.

The CHP plant, in Gloucestershire, is fueled by the biogas derived from mixed food waste collected from across the Cotswolds and will save around 1750 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.

With a focus on sustainability, the new CHP will increase the use of resources and make the site energy self-sufficient using renewable energy.

Based in Dymock, Rose Hill Recycling is a composting and recycling facility which processes 35,000 tonnes of food and farm waste per annum.

Already playing a key role in Gloucestershire county council's food waste recycling strategy, the new CHP site is now be able to generate 4.56GWh of renewable electricity each year – enough energy to supply around 1400 homes.

The site’s AD facility will use the heat from the CHP to help turn the food waste, animal waste and energy crops into biogas, which is then fed back to the cogeneration unit to provide renewable electricity and heat.

The system forms a closed loop energy solution, taking the power demand off the local grid and contributing to the UK government’s target for 20% of the UK’s power to come from renewables by 2020.

The CHP plant is now delivering renewable energy, and will add to Veolia’s existing 40MWe UK biogas electricity generating capacity.

Commenting on the latest biogas CHP project, Gavin Graveson, Veolia’s COO for public and commercial projects, said reducing food waste is “very important”, but the unavoidable and inedible food waste still has a value as a resource.

“Current estimates show that if all the UK's inedible domestic food waste was processed by AD, it could generate enough electricity for 350,000 households. By effectively optimising all the opportunities for biogas CHP we will ensure we can capture this valuable resource and contribute even more to the circular economy,” Graveson said.

This latest project effectively moves nearer this goal and has already saved over 1,300 tonnes of emissions, he added.

According to Mark Bennion, owner and director of Rosehill Recycling, using food waste as a renewable energy resource reduces carbon emissions and saves local taxpayers money by recycling.

“It’s a win-win solution that will help to protect our environment," Bennion concluded.