Final testing is underway at a new multi-million pound biogas plant in West Dorset which will turn food waste into energy.
Eco Sustainable Solutions £3.3 million anaerobic digester (AD) at Piddlehinton is due to be officially launched in September.
The plant, which has created two new jobs, will supply electricity and gas to Mole Valley Farmers’ neighbouring Dorchester Feed Mill.
The mill will also receive electricity from a photovoltaic (PV) plant converting solar radiation into energy.
Mole Valley Farmers says its Dorchester site will become the first feed mill in the country to be powered completely by renewable energy.
David Pope, Operations Manager, Mole Valley Farmers, said: “Our Dorchester Feed Mill produces 85,000 tonnes of animal feed each year. Farmers will, therefore, be buying feed produced entirely using renewable energy.
“Mole Valley Farmers has long since recognised the opportunities that renewable energy production affords farmers, the rural economy and the environment and producing animal feed using renewable technology is central to our vision for the future of farming,” Mr Pope said.
The AD plant is housed on a 2.5 acre site at Bourne Park Estate, Piddlehinton, previously used for pig units.
It will take in up to 15,000 tonnes of organic waste, such as food waste, annually as well as up to 6,000 tonnes of pig slurry to create methane gas.
The gas is used to generate up to 498 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. The end products of the process will be used as agricultural fertiliser on local farms.
The plant includes a reception barn, generator container, digester and two storage tanks.
Trelawney Dampney, Eco’s Managing Director, described the AD plant as a ‘win, win’.
He added: “We’re producing clean, green, renewable energy from food waste which would previously have been going to landfill as well as meeting the energy needs of Mole Valley Farmers’ Dorchester Feed Mills. It’s a ‘win win’ for everyone and we’re delighted that the plant will shortly be in full operation.”
