Pilot project is first in UK to produce domestic gas from sewage
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
About time too I can but say.
Next time you flush the toilet, you could be doing your bit for green energy. After being stored for 18 days, human waste will then be returning to homes in the form of renewable gas.
Centrica has opened a plant at Didcot sewage works which is the first one in the UK to produce renewable gas for households to use. One can but wonder what too the UK so long when in other countries it is already common practice.
National Grid believes that at least 15% of all gas consumed could be made from sewage slurry, old sandwiches and other food thrown away by supermarkets, as well as organic waste created by businesses such as breweries.
As far as I am concerned it would appear that National Grid has not got a clue as to the amount of gas that could be produced and ideally the big companies should be told to stay out of it.
However, there are fears in the industry that the government's spending cuts could make it more difficult for companies to come up with the £10bn needed to develop the new plants and pipelines, say companies. Who also claim that it is more expensive to produce renewable gas, and thus say they need to be paid twice the market rate for it to make economic sense.
Can someone tell why they seem to have to develop new pipelines; the Germans don't seem to have to. There appears to be always an excuse in Britain for not doing something. This used to be a country that led the world and now? Now we only complain and claim that this and that cannot be done while the rest of the world seems to be able to do it.
I have never heard as much bull dust. In Germany biogas is being produced at an enormous rate already and no one seems to be screaming that it is more expensive to produce and such. It is amazing that UK companies always need to have the largest profit margin possible, ideally about a thousand percent, it would appear. There are always excuses not to do something in the UK rather than the other way round.
A proposed subsidy, which they are all hoping for, scheduled to come into force in April, has yet to be approved and there is speculation that the government could delay or scrap it.
The Didcot facility is a pilot project to demonstrate the technology and will supply about 200 homes with gas. The project is a joint venture between Thames Water, British Gas and Scotia Gas Networks.
Once again it is but a pilot project, and always in this country a pilot project or ten are required, rather than accepting that what other countries do can be done here. Time and gain it seems to be a case of “jobs for the boys”, whether with gas plants such as this one in Didcot or whether it is about recycling projects such as reverse vending that work in every country in the world where it is being used. No Britain needs to run a pilot first. The same they are now talking about as regards to reintroducing deposit on glass bottles. We already have had that once; it worked. No nee to try and find out as to whether it does.
One industry expert likened the process to a "cow's stomach on a life support machine". The sewage sludge is collected in air-tight vats which are heated and enzymes added to speed the anaerobic digestion process and break down the material. Methane is produced and then it is purified ready for use.
Landfill sites can also produce methane gas which is then typically used to generate electricity. But British Gas says supplying renewable gas directly is much more efficient, as about two thirds of the energy is lost when electricity is generated.
Adnams the brewer have also recently opened an anaerobic digestion facility in Suffolk using waste slurry which will provide renewable gas to about 235 homes. British Gas is also involved in this project and is planning to open three more.
Gearóid Lane, managing director of communities and new energy at British Gas, said: "This renewable gas project is a real milestone in Britain's energy history, and will help customers and the environment alike. Renewable gas has the potential to make a significant contribution to meeting the UK's energy needs. Gas from sewage is just one part of a bigger project, which will see us using brewery and food waste and farm slurry to generate gas to heat homes."
Now let's do what the Germans and others do and actually have gas works that produce methane from sewage, farm slurry and landfill vents. If they can do it we can, and we must. We have no other choice of the stoves will not longer burn, period.
© 2010
