InSource Energy to power Premier Foods factory from its own food waste in project supported by WRAP Cymru
Media interviews available with: Peter Webster from WRAP Cymru and John Scott from InSource Energy
InSource Energy has marked the start of work on Wales’s first commercial-scale anaerobic digestion plant at Premier Foods Plc’s RF Brookes ready meals factory in Rogerstone, Newport with a ceremony held today (Wednesday July 7th) attended by Jane Davidson AM, Minister for Environment in Wales.
InSource Energy’s £5m facility will convert RF Brookes’ food waste into energy to help power the factory, which is the leading supplier of ready meals to Marks & Spencer, providing significant savings in waste disposal and energy bills and reducing carbon emissions by around 8,500 tonnes per year. WRAP Cymru provided a grant of £0.5m to part-fund the project under a programme supported by the Welsh Assembly Government to promote anaerobic digestion in Wales.
Construction will be completed by the end of 2010 with the plant fully operational in early 2011. This is believed to be the first example in Wales of a factory being partially powered by its own waste in this way.
John Scott, managing director of InSource Energy, said: “InSource Energy has worked closely with Premier Foods over the last two years to bring this exciting project to fruition, with vital support from Welsh Assembly Government and WRAP Cymru. We look forward to delivering many similar projects with other UK food and drink manufacturers wishing to achieve the cost and environmental benefits of implementing this sustainable solution to the treatment of their biodegradable waste”.
RF Brookes managing director, Phil Coles, said: “Premier Foods is committed to embedding sustainability throughout our business operations. We’ve set a challenging target of sending zero waste to landfill by 2015 and also to maximise opportunities for obtaining energy from renewable sources. We are pleased that this initiative will help us on our road to achieving both of these objectives and are delighted to be the first company in Wales to adopt this technology in this way.”
Peter Webster, WRAP Cymru Market Development Manager said: “A significant part of our role at WRAP Cymru is to grow the recycling and reprocessing sector by providing support to businesses such as Insource to develop ‘state of the art’ facilities using the best available technologies. We anticipate that the RF Brookes site will be the first of several plants to be set up across Wales in the next few years, helping to divert food waste from landfill and providing renewable energy and high quality soil conditioner.”
Minister for Environment Sustainability and Housing Jane Davidson said: “Wales is already ahead of the game in the way we deal with our food waste, with every local authority offering a separate food waste collection. But we must stop sending this sort of waste to landfill, which is why the work that’s starting here today is so important.
“Anaerobic digestion is the most environmentally sound way of dealing with our food waste, but as this project shows, it can bring financial benefits too. I am looking forward to following the progress of this pioneering facility, and wish all involved with it every success with their plans.”
Editor's notes
1. The plant has capacity to process around 10,000 tonnes of food waste per year which is expected to generate 300 kW total energy – enough to supply roughly 250 households with electricity and hot water.
2. The Rogerstone site is a major supplier to Marks & Spencer and Rowland Hill, Sustainable Development Manager at Marks & Spencer said: "As part of Plan A, our eco and ethical programme, we're not only looking at our own waste, we're also working closely with our suppliers to tackle waste and environmental issues throughout our supply chain. The RF Brooks project is a great example of one of our suppliers taking action and investing for the future. We wish them every success with the project."
3. EnviTec Biogas Ltd is supplying anaerobic digestion technology for the project. This technology will convert food waste into biogas which will then be used to generate renewable energy in the form of electricity and heat.
EnviTec Biogas managing director, Roel Slotman, said: “EnviTec Biogas is a world leader in anaerobic digestion technology with many plants operating in Europe and elsewhere. We are delighted to be entering the UK market with this project which we hope will be the first of many installations which EnviTec will supply as the UK biogas sector develops.”
EnviTec Biogas AG, the parent company of EnviTec Biogas Ltd, covers the entire biogas production value chain – including the planning and turnkey construction of biogas plants as well as their commissioning. The company based in Lower Saxony, Germany, provides the biological and technical services, and also offers the entire range of plant and operating management. In Güstrow, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, EnviTec Biogas built the world’s largest plant for the production of biogas to natural gas standards with a thermal output of 55 megawatts. In addition, the company also operates its own biogas plants. Today, the company is represented in more than 15 countries worldwide. For further information about EnviTec Biogas, visit www.envitec-biogas.com.
4. H2OK Systems Limited has been appointed as Principal Contractor for the project. H2OK are environmental engineers in the waste water, industrial effluent and energy sectors. Working with key partners H2OK provide a turn key service from conceptual design to project delivery and whole of life service. The company is at the forefront of innovative environmental solutions and sees the Bio-Energy market as an excellent environmental solution to removing food waste from landfill with a positive sustainable return.
H2OK Systems managing director, Tim Cunliffe, said: “H2OK Systems is a leader in the provision of plant for waste and wastewater treatment. We see biogas as a major growth sector in the UK and we plan to build a reputation as a leading contractor in this field. We are delighted to be working with EnviTec Biogas and InSource Energy to deliver this project.”
Visit www.h2ok.co.uk
5. InSource Energy is a specialist developer of on-site waste-to-energy solutions for the food and drink processing sector, and is jointly owned and supported by Carbon Trust Enterprises (a commercial subsidiary of the Carbon Trust) and SSE Venture Capital Ltd (part of Scottish & Southern Energy Plc). InSource Energy was established to target this new, under-exploited market which is developing rapidly as food processors recognise the opportunity to transform food wastes from an environmental burden into a renewable energy source and contribute to a sustainable future for the food processing sector. Visit www.insource-energy.co.uk for more information nor call 0844 4871991.
Commenting on the project,
Carbon Trust CEO, Tom Delay, said: “Our investment in InSource Energy forms part of our mission to encourage the growth of private sector solutions utilising organic waste as a sustainable energy source. We are of course delighted that this project has now entered construction and we look forward to many more projects in the future contributing to reducing carbon emissions.”
SSE plc CEO Ian Marchant said: “Biogas has the potential to be one of the most important new generation renewable and sustainable energy solutions available to us, capturing the energy contained in waste. SSE is excited about entering the biogas market, which we believe offers opportunities beyond on-site electricity generation to include connections to the gas distribution network in the future. This new project will help SSE to gain experience with this technology so we are well placed to bring that knowledge to future projects in the UK”
6. WRAP Cymru helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
WRAP Cymru has worked with the Welsh Assembly Government since 2007 promoting anaerobic digestion as the most effective way of reducing the amount of bio-degradable waste ending up in landfill. It is an energy efficient and sustainable method of using waste as a resource to generate power.
For further information about WRAP Cymru, visit www.wrapcymru.org.uk or call 02920 448090.
7.Premier Foods is the UK’s largest food producer, and is home to some of the nation’s favourite food brands including iconic British brands such as Hovis, Mr Kipling, Batchelor’s, Quorn, Bisto, Ambrosia, Sharwood’s, Branston, OXO, Hartley’s and many more. You’ll find us in every British kitchen and on every British table.
More than 99.4% of all British Households bought one of our brands last year, and 47.2 million people eat a Premier Foods’ branded product in an average two week period.
In 2009 our sales were £2,661 million and our trading profit was £323 million. Branded sales, which represent over 60% of total sales were up 6.5%. We supply a broad range of customers including the major multiple retailers, wholesalers, foodservice providers and other food manufacturers.
The business is headquartered in St Albans, Herts and employs around 16,000 people on over 60 sites across the UK and Ireland.