Progress on ReFood Doncaster’s anaerobic digestion plant expansion is moving forward with construction well underway on two new digesters. Building work started in April and will be completed later in the Autumn.
The £6m investment in the state-of-the-art facility will more than double capacity to recycle 160,000 tonnes of food waste generated in the South Yorkshire area. Construction involves two 3,700 tonne digesters, two 1.1MWe engines, two storage tanks and a receiving tank.
The expanded plant will generate just under 5MWh of electricity through combined heat and power (CHP) which will be fed directly to the national grid. The digestate produced by the process will meet PAS 110 standards and ReFood has a network of local farmers who use it on crops.
“We’re delighted that local demand for an integrated food waste collection and recycling solution in the area is so high and this has fuelled our investment in the Doncaster facility just three years after it opened. Businesses are steadily realising the financial benefits that are achievable by diverting food waste from landfill and we’re pleased that ReFood Doncaster has been able to deliver those benefits to a wide range of customers both large and small,” says Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood.
The extension will generate a further 30 jobs across drivers, sales, administration, operations and maintenance.
This investment forms part of ReFood’s commitment to anaerobic digestion which also sees over £50million being spent on new plants in Widnes (due to open in June 2014) and Dagenham (2015).
To find out more visit www.refood.co.uk
