Agrivert opens new AD plant in North London
UK biogas plant specialist Agrivert has opened a new anaerobic digestion plant in North London.
Councillor Richard Thake, chairman of Hertfordshire County Council, officially opened the facility.
This is the company’s fifth AD plant.
Designed and constructed by the Agrivert team, the new North London AD facility was constructed in just 11 months and is already operating at full power converting waste into renewable energy and nutrient rich biofertiliser.
The facility was built to service Hertfordshire’s municipal food waste and local businesses although it also currently serves Essex County Council under a short term contract. Located 18 miles from central London’s Marble Arch and the same distance from Park Royal, one of the UK's largest food manufacturing hubs, we also expect to attract some waste from the wider London area.
The plant is set to process 50,000 tonnes of food and liquid wastes per year, generating 3MW of electricity each year and producing enough energy to power 5,900 homes. This energy is used at its closest point of need; therefore this facility will directly power the local homes and businesses from which the food waste originated.
The plant will also produce digestate, which will help to displace fossil fuel-derived fertilisers on over 3,000 acres of local farm land.
In fact, the net impact of CH4 removal, energy production and replacement of fossil fuel fertilisers means that this AD facility has the equivalent net green benefit of taking 86,000 cars off the road annually.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Richard Thake, chairman of Hertfordshire County Council, said: “I welcome Agrivert’s investment in Hertfordshire and I’m very pleased to have officially opened the new AD plant at London Colney. This facility will bring a number of benefits to the county. This facility is expected to process around 50,000 tonnes of organic waste per year and will generate electricity that will be exported to the National Grid. By sorting food waste from general household rubbish we can prevent, large amount of waste being sent to landfill, where it would generate greenhouse gas emissions.”
Agrivert chief executive Alexander Maddan, added: “We are proud of this AD project and the increased accessibility to our industry-leading food waste recycling services it brings. The new plant will offer much needed reliable capacity to local markets and we are pleased that large volumes of waste are already coming in from local sources. Local plants such as this reduce the cost of waste collection and treatment and should provide an incentive for many businesses to recycle food waste.
“We are delighted to be working with Hertfordshire, Essex and London Councils, who have been supportive partners at every step. Indeed we could not have delivered this facility so quickly if we had not had such progressive relationships.”
