New GIB funding for Northern Irish AD plants
The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) yesterday (2 July) announced £6.5 million of funding for the construction of two on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) plants in Northern Ireland.
Two farms, in Cookstown, County Tyrone, and Banbridge, County Down, are set to host the plants that will process waste produced by local livestock farmers.
GIB recognises anaerobic digestion as ‘one of Northern Ireland’s most promising renewable energy technologies’, and it is expected that these new projectswill be the ‘first of several, similar projects in the region’.
It is hoped that the new investment will help farmers in Northern Ireland become more sustainable, create jobs and generate income from their waste.
Eight AD plants are currently operational in Northern Ireland and GIB states that there is ‘potential for this to grow to over 50 in the coming years’.
Speaking of the investment, Shaun Kingsbury, GIB Chief Executive, said: “Today’s announcement is a textbook example of the types of project we should be seeing all across the UK. It’s economically important, injecting £6.5 million into the rural economy in Northern Ireland and generating 22 new jobs.
“It’s green, turning farm waste into renewable energy and fertiliser. And it’s good for the local farming community, earning and saving them money.
“Northern Ireland has taken a real lead in this fast-emerging technology, so we were delighted to help get these new projects moving and stand ready to back other community-based, green projects like them across the UK.”
Project details
The investment is being made through GIB’s fund manager Foresight Group (Foresight) with funding from its UK Waste Resources and Energy Investments (UKWREI) fund and a local engineering company, Williams Industrial Services.
According to a statement from GIB, the two new plants will generate enough energy to power 1,700 households for a year, with a consequent reduction in greenhouse gas equivalent to taking 2,000 cars off the road for a year.
Both plants are also set to produce digestate, a fertiliser that can then be used by the local farmers.
The Cookstown project is set to process 18,500 tonnes of waste from local livestock farmers with the potential to produce 3,600 Megawatt hours (MWh) of energy to be sold back to the national grid.
Speaking on behalf of the group of the three livestock famers who will fuel the plant, PAR Renewables, farmer Rodney Sloan said: “We took the decision to develop an on-farm anaerobic digestion plant over three years ago, pooling the resources across our three farm enterprises.
“While we received planning permission nearly two years ago, the lack of suitable funding in the market has delayed the project’s development and we are therefore delighted to have worked with the GIB, Foresight, KPMG and Williams Industrial Services to secure a funding package tailored specifically to our project’s requirements.”
The Banbridge dairy farm will host the second plant, which is also planned to process 18,500 tonnes of waste specifically from the dairy farm and two neighbouring farms.
AD as the ‘unsung hero of the renewable industry’
Commenting on the announcement, Resources Management Minister Dan Rogerson said: “Anaerobic digestion is the unsung hero of the renewables industry; it diverts waste from landfill and generates clean, renewable energy. Given the technology’s flexibility it’s also a great way for farmers to secure additional income from manures and slurries alongside food waste.”
The anaerobic digestion process handles organic waste, breaking it down into a gas in order to generate electricity. Digestate is also created as a byproduct and can be used as a natural fertiliser to return nutrients to the land.
Northern Ireland recently launched a fund for on-farm AD, similar to one already operating in England, although this has come under fire lately with government reneging on a promise to consult on Feed-in Tariffs for small-scale AD.
