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Anaerobic Digestion Plants in the British Isles

In the UK we expect a substantial number of Anaerobic Digestion Plants to be built over the next 10 years, these will be to service the primary functions of:-

• for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal: as the Waste Disposal Authorities throughout the nation enter contracts to build new waste management facilities;
• for Agricultural Waste Management and production of fertiliser and on-farm biogas;
• for Renewable Energy Generation assuming current energy prices and ROCS subsidies are maintained.

A number of regulations apply to these plants and are listed on our England and Wales Biogas Plant regulations page.

UK Anaerobic Digestion Plants Updated

The following is our version of the list you can find at the Biogas Info web site maps page. with a few sites added bringing our list up to a magic 100! (Last updated February 2013).

AD Plants in England and Wales

Municipal and Farm Based AP Plants

The following may not be on the list of 100 above, or are featured for their interesting features:

1. Wanlip Leicester as part of a Biffa MRF. Operated by Severn Trent
   Water (BIFFA). Accepts biodegradable Municipal Waste. 1.5 MW potential power output. Operational large scale plant Approx. 35,000 tpa.
2. Woking Council, Surrey - Preliminary pre-contract discussions
3. South Shropshire Council, DEFRA Waste Technologies Demonstrator Project. This part DEFRA funded Waste Technology Demonstrator Plant, in Ludlow, Shropshire has been mothballed, however, we understand that there are plans to re-open the plant soon.
4. Longstock, Hampshire - Technology provider is Bioplex Ltd and operator is also Bioplex Ltd. Feed is agricultural residues and animal waste slurries. The throughput is about 1,500 tpa
5. Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire - Biogen technology plant operated by Bedfordia Farms Ltd. Accepts Food waste (ABP 2+3) Operational plant with a reported throughput of 42,000 tpa
6. Rushden (Westwood), Northamptonshire CC, Biogen BiogenFood waste1.5 MW, Under development 41,000 tpa
7. Wareham, Dorset - In-vessel composting Operator Sita Feed will be Bio-waste. this plant is under development
8. South East London - Operator would be Veolia - Food waste. thought to be at feasibility study stage.
9. Doncaster, South Yorkshire -  Initial stages.
10. Honiton - Otter Rotters Ltd
11. Elgin - Integrated Bio-Gen Ltd - early stages
13. Bank Farm - Operated by Clive Pugh (Private  Ind.) 790 m3 Operational plant
14. Eye Airfield, Eye, Suffolk - 1.05 MW. Not yet built, but fully consented
15. Dimmer - Wyvern Waste Services Ltd, 3 MW. - Not yet built, but fully consented
16. Lowe Farm - 0.5 MW - Not yet built, but fully consented
17. Longstock, Hampshire - Operator Bioplex Ltd. Technology Bioplex Demo Plant 0.0075 MW. Currently operating
18. Horsington, Somerset - Technology provider was Organic Power and so is Operator. this is a demo plant
19. Cambridge Research Park/Waterbeach near Cambridge - Operator Summerleaze, and technology also by Summerleaze.
20. Swang Farm, near Bridgwater, Somerset. Operator Tim Roe (MD) Cannington Cold Stores
21. Sandford, Whitchurch, Shropshire; Lower College Poultry Farm
22. Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, North Manchester plant - Enpure Ltd - Greater Manchester
23. Greater Manchester, Bredbury Parkway; plant by Enpure Ltd -MSW - Under development
24. Leicestershire CC (Estates Dept) - Feasibility study for a central AD Plant
25. Stockport, Manchester - Design by Greenfinch Ltd. Operation to be by Fairfield Ltd.
26. Update October 2008
27. GR Lancashire UR-3R process- 2 plants under construction Leyland and Thornton
28. Biffa/ Clarke, West Sussex, Hasse process, 1 facility at preferred bidder
29. SRM/NEWS    Norfolk CC Contract A  AMBT with Dranco/OWS AD process near Final Closure
30. Oaktech,  Glendale /Falkirk, Arrowbio process 1 facility under construction Thanks to Rob W
31. Coca-Cola€™s manufacturing facility in Warrington, UK,  incorporates an anaerobic wastewater treatment facility dating from the  early 1990s.
32. BV Dairy Shaftesbury, Dorset will generate more than 75% of the site’s electricity consumption with a new Anaerobic Digestion (AD) system. The high-rate liquid digester has been designed and built by Clearfleau. EnerG is supplying the equipment to convert the biogas into energy.
33. Dalkia is delivering its energy generation and carbon efficiency capabilities to Dairy Crest by designing and installing a biomass energy centre at the Davidstow creamery in Cornwall.
34. In April 2008 Kemble Farms completed the Smerrill Generating Station.  Located beside the Smerrill Dairy, it produces Electricity and Heat from the cows slurry and energy crops.
35. As announced on 13 December 2010, TEG  was developing a new anaerobic digestion ("AD") and in-vessel composing  ("IVC") plant in Dagenham, East London, which is expected to be in  operation in 2012.  The Mixed Waste was planned to be processed at  the Dagenham plant from 2012.

AD Plants Scotland

Scottish Executive Programme Sites

A number of small farm digesters have been installed under the Scottish Executive programme the prime driver for installing these subsidised plants was for public health reasons, to reduce organically contaminated stormwater  run-off from these farms into watercourses which led to improved bathing beach standards on nearby Solway Firth bathing beaches.

These plants were on farm sites for example at Sorbie, Saltcoats, Ayrshire; Meikle Laught, Knockrivoch, Saltcoats, Ayrshire; Corsock, Dalbeattie; Southwick, Dumfries. The installer and designer was Greenfinch Technology. The feedstock comprises sheep and cattle manure and slurries The sizes vary up to 480 m3. These plants are operated by each farm and are currently operating now and are small scale plants.

Also AD Plant: Scottish Water Waste Services, Deerdykes, Scotland.

Food Waste AD Plants

• Rogerstone Biogas Project designed by H2OK consultants. InSource Energy has partnered with Premier Foods™ RF Brookes ready meal facility at Rogerstone, South Wales to deliver on-site anaerobic digestion facilities to treat the food waste from the manufacturing process.
• Deerdykes near Cumbernauld, Glasgow; HBS and Monsal, project in progress for operator Scottish Water Waste Services, feed will be food waste and it is planned to have a throughput of approximately 30,000 tpa.

Coca-Cola’s manufacturing facility in Warrington, Yorkshire, UK,  incorporates an anaerobic wastewater treatment facility dating from the  early 1990s

Municipal Solid Waste AD Plants

Isle of Lewis, Western Isles

Under the Western Isles Integrated Waste Management Facility, PFI Contract awarded to Earthtech, a Linde Technology designed plant is completed. The plant will be fed by Biodegradable Municipal Waste.

Farm/Central AD Plants

The following feasibility studies are thought to be underway:-

• Isle of Mull - Animal slurry
• Isle of Bute - Animal slurry, dairy waste
• Island of Westray - Orkney; Ris Energy Feedstock will be animal slurry, and fish waste 0.024 MW. Not yet built, but fully consented

Municipal Solid Waste AD Plants

1. Turriff plant, operated by John Rennie & Son Ltd 30.95 MW. this plant is Operational.

2. Biffa - Leicester AD Plant (Commissioned 2011) See above also.

Wastewater Biosolids AD Plants (Sewage Sludge Treatment)

Visit our page on Monsal Anaerobic Digestion for information about UK AD Plants which digest the sludge produced by sewage treatment works, and in particular activated sludge from the activated sludge process used at many sewage (wastewater) treatment works.

South West Water operates a Sludge Digestion Centre near Exeter, Devon

Aberdeen STW has an AD Plant for sludge treatment

Gowerton sludge treatment centre in South Wales has an AD Plant for sludge treatment

Lowestoft STW has sludge treatment by AD.

Taywaste STW has an AD Plant for sludge treatment.

Wombell - Sewage Treatment Centre has an AD Plant operated by Yorkshire Water, through their contracting partners Earth Tech-Morrison

AD Plants Ireland

Silver Hill Duck Farm, Ireland. The feed stock is Duck slurry - Operational and large scale.

Ballytobin , Kilkenny, Ireland. Biogas Nord technology. The feed stock is Animal slurry, food processing wastes - Operational – small scale.

Recent AD Plant History

To Understand the Growth in the Number of AD Plants compare the list below with the current projects described above

The US Methane to Markets Country Report for Agriculture for the UK (2006) provided the following table of AD sites, and potential sites:-

Table - Summary of Large-scale AD plant in UK and Ireland

Source: UK Response to Country Profile for Methane to Markets Agriculture Taskforce – October 2005.

(If you know of more AD Plants then please help us update this list by using the Contact Us email address, or form, here.)

This page was last updated in February 2013. Site information has been obtained from various sources and no liability is accepted for its accuracy.