Biogen signs North Wales AD contract

The contract was signed last week (October 31)and subject to planning permission, will see Biogen build a 22,500 tonne-a-year capacity AD plant.

Once operational, the AD facility will treat food waste from households collected by the three consortiums councils – Denbighshire county, Conwy county borough and Flintshire county. The facility will also treat food waste from local businesses including food manufacturers, caterers and retailers.

The plant will generate over one megawatt of electricity and produce a digestate which can be used on nearby farmland as a biofertiliser.

A planning application for the facility was submitted in August 2012. If granted, construction work is expected to begin in spring 2013 with the plant becoming operational in the first half of 2014.

Funding for the multi-million pound project is coming from Biogen and equity firm Iona Capital.

Delighted

Commenting on the contract, Richard Barker, Biogens chief executive, said: Biogen is looking forward to starting construction on our second Welsh AD plant alongside our partners, the North Wales Consortium and Iona Capital. We look forward to becoming leaders in this field in Wales.

Councillor David Smith, Denbighshire county councils lead member for environment, added: We are delighted to make this announcement. This new AD facility will be good for the environment, because it will generate electricity from the food waste that people have thrown away. BiogenGreenfinch have a proven track record in delivering AD facilities.

Biogen said the project has been positively received by local residents and farmers, who have been keen to find out about the benefits of the digestate and the techniques used to spread it to land.

Facilities

The plant will be Biogens second in North Wales after it was chosen as the preferred bidder by Gwynedd council for the development of an 11,000 tonne-a-year capacity plant at Llwyn Isaf, Caernarfon (see letsrecycle.com story).

Biogen currently operates a number of AD plants in the UK including three which process food waste in Shropshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. Services giant Kier recently bought a 50% stake in Biogen in a deal worth over 24 million (see letsrecycle.com story).