Permission sought to grow tomatoes with CHP heat

A commercial greenhouse, similar to the ones planned for Suffolk. 

The company behind the project, Sterling Suffolk (set up by local farmers Michael Blakenham and Stephen Wright), has submitted a planning application to Suffolk County Council for the £30-million project, which would see two commercial greenhouses built next to Sita’s Blakenham incinerator.

Heat produced from the incinerator would then be directed to the two buildings off the B1113 via a pipeline, which could also form the basis for a district energy network reaching towards Ipswich.

Sterling Suffolk says that the project couldproduce around 7,500 tonnes of tomatoes a year, making Suffolk one of the country’s largest tomato producers.

Michael Blakenham, from Sterling Suffolk, said: “The glasshouses will provide the base load for developing a district heating system. In addition the reduction in food miles, the ability to grow all-year-round British quality tomatoes and to utilise substantial quantities of heat, that would otherwise have been wasted, first attracted me to the project.

“We have been heartened by the level of support received at two public meetings attended by well over 100 people. We have also had several meetings with residents most closely affected by the plan and have done our best to mitigate their concerns.”

According to Blakenham, one concern voiced was over increased traffic and road safety. As such, the planning application includes suggestions to alleviate this, including introducing new road markings to ‘reduce the width of the carriageway and thus help reduce vehicle speeds and prevent dangerous overtaking’, and creating a cycle lane in both directions with a ‘central refuge making it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to cross’.

The Suffolk project has the backing of The Greenery, one of the main distributers buying and selling salad produce throughout the UK and Europe.

Kevin Doran, Managing Director of Greenery UK Ltd, added: “The stellar green credentials of this production is an ideal fit with our existing UK sites Cornerways and North Bank Growers; both use surplus heat from nearby processors. It adds to our local-for-local supply strategy and moves the UK closer to being self sufficient on products loved by the British public."

If the project is given approval, around 200 construction jobs could be created, with work starting ‘next summer’.

Incinerator details

Construction on SITA UK’s combined heat and power (CHP) plant began in May 2012 and, once operational (scheduled for December 2014), is expected to burn up to 269,000 tonnes of residual waste annually and generate enough electricity for 30,000 homes.

The plant forms part of SITA’s 25-year, £1 billion PFI-funded waste management contract with Suffolk County Council.

According to SITA, the greenhouse project came about after Cliff Matthews, Regional Manager of SITA UK, was tasked with the challenge of finding customers for surplus heat from the Blakenham facility to boost its efficiencies.

Historically, combined heat and power plants have proved relatively unsuccessful at delivering heat energy as the extensive pipe networks involved are often deemed too disruptive and expensive.

Indeed, according to environmental consultancy AEA, incinerators that only produce electricity have efficiencies of between 15 and 25 per cent, a figure rising to 79 per cent when heat is used. The greenhouse project would reportedly justify the expense of laying down the £2 million pipeline in this instance.

Read more about SITA UK’s Blakenham incinerator