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Street-Porter backs biogas plant
Working with the private and public sector Emerald Biogas is recycling and reusing the region’s food waste to generate electricity, heat and bio-fertilisers at its £8 million facility.
Formed in 2009, Emerald Biogas is owned by three partners Antony and Adam Warren of John Warren ABP and Ian Bainbridge of Agricore.
Funding for the project was made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union.
The biogas produced is burned using Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology to produce 1.56 MW per hour or enough energy to power 2,000 homes. Waste is collected from schools, food manufacturing companies, retailers and leisure outlets.
The north east generates over 800,000 tonnes of food waste every year, with over 80,000 tonnes of generated by schools. To tackle the growing problem of food waste, Emerald Biogas has taken its Waste Warriors: Food for Thought campaign into at schools.
“Food waste to landfill is a growing concern, with over 80 kilograms thrown away in a primary school each week,” said director Adam Warren. “Through our initiative, pupils have the opportunity to understand the problem of food waste and our innovative green energy solution. We collect the schools’ food waste to process, pupils then visit the plant to experience the food waste-processing journey in action.” www.emeraldbiogas.com