Tamar Energy to Establish AD Network in UK

The U.K.-based energy firm Tamar Energy has announced plans to build four new anaerobic digestion plants in the United Kingdom. The four plants are part of what the company calls a ‘critical mass’ of 40 AD plants it hopes to build throughout England by 2018.

According to Tamar, combined the four sites will have a capacity of 8MW, turning organic waste into biogas, a nutrient rich fertilizer and water. Tamar Energy also says it has an additional 14 sites in various stages of development. The company adds that it is the U.K.’s first renewable energy business dedicated exclusively to developing AD operations.

The four sites are the following:

• Farleigh, Hampshire. Digester tanks are currently being constructed. When operational, Tamar Energy says the facility, its first, will process 40,000 metric tons of food waste per year. Commissioning will commence in autumn 2013 and the plant will be generating 1.5 MW of electricity by early 2014.
• Holbeach Hurn, Lincolnshire. To be commissioned in late 2013, the Holbeach project is a joint venture with food producer and processor A.H. Worth & Company Ltd. It is expected to process around 30,000 metric tons of food waste when in operation and produce 1.5 MW of electricity.
• Retford, Nottinghamshire. The facility, to be commissioned in spring 2014, is expected to process maize, manures and other agricultural waste, and will produce renewable electricity and heat when in use.
• Halstead, Essex. Tamar says work by the landlord has begun to create the access track for Tamar Energy’s Essex plant. The company is planning to start work on the AD facility at the end of June 2013 which, once operational in 2014, is expected to process commercial and industrial (C&I) food waste, to make renewable electricity.

“We are very pleased to report that work is on or ahead of schedule at our sites, and we are in advanced stages of negotiations with local waste contractors in and around Hampshire and Essex for our plants in Farleigh and Halstead,” says Alan Lovell, Tamar Energy’s chairman and CEO.

“Our innovative funding model means we are in a unique position in the AD industry to deliver on our promise of a cost-effective, reliable and sustainable energy and waste management solution for local councils and waste contractors alike.”

Tamar Energy says that by 2018 the company’s 40-plant plan will create the first UK-wide network of AD plants and will be generating 100MW of electricity and gas. The network will enable it to manage large volumes of feedstock from national contractors and offer unparalleled levels of scale and flexibility.