The £5 million Gwyri plant is located at Llwyn Isaf in Gwynedd, North Wales, on the site of a former landfill site. The project was funded by Gwynedd Council, the energy company Biogen, equity firm Iona Capital and the Welsh Government and is currently in the commissioning phase. The Welsh Government’s renewable energy strategy is aiming to produce 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and once the facility is opened it is expected to process around 11,500 tonnes of commercial and household food waste which will be transported there by Gwynedd Council’s new weekly food waste service. Upon arrival it will be processed into a porridge-like mixture and then pumped into sealed vessels where bacteria will break down the organic material in the absence of air in order to produce a methane-rich biogas. This is then used to generate renewable electricity.
The facility should produce around 3,500 megawatt hours per year of electricity which will be exported on to the national grid. The generated capacity will be enough to power 700 households per year with the digestate being used as a biofertiliser on nearby farmland.
The project was certified by Waterman Group who acted for both the contractor, Biogen, and Gwynedd Council. It is the first of three projects part sponsored by the Welsh Government.
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