Somerset AD plant gets the Monsal treatment
Waste management company Viridor has begun construction on a state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion facility near Bridgwater in Somerset. The £10m project is being developed by Viridor where Monsal are providing the technology which will convert food waste into renewable energy via their Advanced Digestion process.
The plant will be Viridor’s first Food waste AD facility and will be located at its Walpole landfill site. The Somerset Waste Board agreed in September 2011 to develop the facility and the plant is expected to be operational by April 2013.
Capacity
Viridor’s Somerset AD facility will be located at the firm’s Walpole landfill site (pictured)
The facility- which will cost around £10 million – will have the capacity to process up to 30,000 tonnes of food waste per year, 20,000 tonnes of which will be provided by the Somerset Waste Partnership, which includes all six of Somerset’s councils. The remaining 10,000 tonnes of capacity will be used to process waste from restaurants, supermarkets, catering firms, pubs, shops and other businesses in the local area.
The plant will also produce over one megawatt of power, enough to supply more than 1,700 homes.
Patrick Murray, Viridor’s regional manager, said: “This is a fantastic development for Somerset that will help divert even more waste from landfill and increase recycling rates.
Working with Somerset Waste Partnership we will process 20,000 tonnes of food waste collected from residents across the county. The remaining capacity will be filled from food waste we collect from local businesses.”
“The plant will also provide some excellent employment opportunities with 20 jobs during the construction phase and six full-time positions when the plant starts operating in April 2013.”
Benefits
Viridor committed to build the anaerobic digestion (AD) facility under part of its long-term contract to manage Somerset’s waste, which began in 2006 and runs until March 31 2022
Somerset Waste Board chairman Councillor Derek Yeomans said: “Somerset residents are working hard with us maximise the weekly food collections and keep this valuable resource out of landfill. The next step, working with our partner Viridor, is to create clean, green renewable power right here in Somerset for the local grid.”
“The new AD facility will also save taxpayers around £1 million over the next five years so it’s a genuine win on both environmental and economic grounds. We’d like to encourage all residents to use the scheme if they are not already, as the more we can process, the bigger the benefits.”
Technology
Monsal , the UKs leading biogas to energy specialist, will provide the technology platform. Monsals Managing Director Aidan Cumiskey said “We are delighted to be working with Viridor on their first food waste recycling and energy plant. This project will be state-of-the-art using the latest innovations to convert food waste to energy and will build on the considerable track record we now have in the UK”
The plant is the 4th Advanced Digestion plant Monsal will construct in the UK for treatment of Food waste based on its class leading Advanced Digestion system.
Monsal Managing Director Aidan Cumiskey said “Our track record now speaks for itself in the UK with established operational plants at Deerdykes and Westry and construction of two additional advanced facilities now underway.”
“ Viridor is a major player in the sector and the fact that they have chosen our technology for their first food waste plant speaks volumes about the confidence they have in our offering to deal with multiple waste streams. We have worked hard to develop a solution and supply chain that can service this new Cleantech market. In particular we are taking a lead position in the treatment of food waste.”
