The plant, which is located at Cattlegate Farm, Enfield, will generate renewable electricity for the grid from the large amounts of food waste produced daily by London households, restaurants and the food industry. The nutrients in the waste will then be recycled to make agricultural fertilizer. This will help to ensure that large amounts of food are diverted from disposal in landfills while also increasing the share of renewable energy in the UK.
“This project is a welcome addition to the growing waste to energy infrastructure that is supporting London in its ambition to become a world leader in waste and recycling” said Nigel Aitchison, partner at Foresight Environmental Fund (FEF). “This is the second project where both the Foresight Environmental Fund and the UK Waste Renewable Energy Investments (UKWREI) have invested alongside each other to provide the majority of the equity and the first where they have provided the full project capital needed.”
Adrian Williams, partner in D. Williams & Co., added that the plant’s proximity to the centre of the one of the major population capitals of the world will ensure huge potential for a food waste fed anaerobic digestion plant.
The contract involves Xergi delivering a turnkey-ready biogas plant to Willen Biogas. Xergi will also be responsible for commissioning of the plant and its subsequent operation for two years. This will involve the company establishing a new organisation to ensure efficient operation of the plant which will be equipped with a pre-treatment facility that sorts plastic residues from organic waste. It will also be built with an engine plant capable of producing 1.5MW of electricity, enough to power around 1750 households. Construction of the plant began in August 2014 and completion is expected in May 2016.
Willen Biogas is owned by the investment funds Foresight Environmental Fund (FEF) and UK Waste Resources and Energy Investments fund (UKWREI). Foresight Group LLP is an independent infrastructure and private equity investment manager that has been managing investment funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients for 30 years. The group possesses one of the UK's leading environmental infrastructure investment teams and has more than £1 billion of assets in the UK.
Xergi is a specialist in designing, building and operating biogas plants with more than 25 years of experience. The company has developed a robust biogas technology incorporating concepts that are flexible, robust in structure, reliable in operation and easy to control.
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