PDM granted planning permission for 4MW biogas plant

UK food waste recycler PDM's proposed 4.2MW biogas plant in the UK has been approved.

The £20 million (€25 million) project, to be built in Widnes, Cheshire on 1.12 hectares of land, will be able to handle 90,000 tonnes a year of Merseyside-derived food waste and generate enough biogas to power 8,000 (4%) Halton households.

The food waste will also be used for compost.

The waste is presently sent to landfill and emits methane, a gas 20 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide - the only gas given off by the biogas digestion process. 

Halton Borough Council's development control committee ruled in favour of the project on 8 October.

Forty new jobs will be created when PDM breaks ground on the anaerobic digester in November. Completion is expected in late 2013.

In the UK, the number of AD plants has shot up from two in 2005 to 30 in 2012, with a further 70 in the pipeline.

PDM commercial director, Philip Simpson, says: 'While the site already operates rendering- and biomass-to-energy plants, the AD plant will offer another sustainable solution to our portfolio in the North West.'

'Demand for food waste recycling solutions is growing amongst businesses at every stage of the food chain. Our vision is to develop a network of plants, providing food waste collection and recycling services to a 50 mile radius of the plant,' Simpson continues.