Prince Charles officially opens Barkip AD plant

His Royal Highness Prince Charles officially opened SSEs Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant at Barkip near Beith in North Ayrshire on Friday (May 11).

The Prince toured the state-of-the-art plant and met a number of SSE staff and invited industry guests before officially opening the facility, which was completed in June 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Barkip is the largest combined organic waste treatment and energy generating facility in Scotland. The plant can process up to 75,000 tonnes of organic waste annually and generate 2.2MW of renewable electricity from the biogas produced.

The plant takes in food waste and other organic matter from industries such as agriculture, food production, food retail and alcohol production. This waste is then broken down by bacteria to produce biogas. The methane-rich biogas is combusted in gas engines to generate electricity. The residual material forms a digestate, a liquid suitable for use as a fertiliser in agriculture.

The operation of Barkip is managed by Glasgow-based AD specialist Zebec Biogas Limited on SSEs behalf and it also provides the biological process expertise. Zero Waste Scotland invested 2.2 million in the Barkip project from its Organics Capital Grants Programme.

Rhys Stanwix, SSEs director of thermal development, said: We were delighted to welcome His Royal Highness to the state of the art AD plant at Barkip which is a source of real pride to all at SSE. We want to see the plant continue to play a crucial role in waste reduction. Working with local authorities, large-scale industrial organic waste producers and local businesses and farmers we can make a real difference to waste levels and produce renewable electricity and a quality fertiliser while doing so. Barkip is a real sustainable success story.

Regulation

The official opening of the Barkip plant comes after new regulations were passed last week in Scotland which will see biodegradable waste banned from landfill by 2021 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Zero Waste Scotlands director Iain Gulland said: New Waste (Scotland) Regulations, passed by the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday (9th May), will prohibit biodegradable materials, like food waste, from being sent to landfill by 2021. The regulations will also drive an increase in recycling rates by requiring businesses and councils to provide separate collections for key recyclable materials, including paper and card, plastic, glass, metals, and in most cases, food waste too.

Investing in reprocessing facilities, like Barkip, for food waste and a range of other recyclable materials is a key part of Zero Waste Scotlands work to unlock economic opportunities for Scotland. We are also supporting the roll-out of food waste collections to homes and businesses with 8million available this year.

Martin Gorevan, chief executive of Zebec Biogas Limited, said: Zebec is proud to have worked for SSE on the delivery of Barkip AD plant and is looking forward to supporting the on-going operations. Enthusiasm in Scotland towards resource efficiency and sustainable energy production is gathering momentum with SSEs AD plant central to this development. Working for SSE, Zebec are proud to be part of this movement.