Grosvenor Farms in Cheshire – a leading UK leading dairy and arable farms – has broken ground on a new initiative to produce National Grid-ready biomethane from recycled agricultural waste, supplying enough renewable gas to heat around 6,000 homes a year and strengthening the UK’s energy resilience.
As part of its wider circular and regenerative farming approach and building on a track record of innovation and one of the lowest carbon footprints in UK milk production, the project – on land at Grosvenor’s Eaton Estate, Cheshire – involves investment in an anaerobic digester and integrated biogas upgrading facility.
Anaerobic digesters use microorganisms to break down agricultural waste, producing biogas and digestate – a high-quality organic fertiliser that also enhances soil health. The biogas is upgraded to make biomethane, which is injected into the National Grid, and the fertiliser is used on the farm, reducing reliance on resource‑intensive inorganic fertilisers.
It is estimated the scheme will produce in excess of 72GWh of biomethane per year from up to 170,000 tonnes of manure, avoiding around 8,500 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions annually.
Grosvenor Farms’ location provides a unique opportunity to safely connect to the national high-pressure gas network, which runs adjacent to the facility, through underground pipes. Biomethane will be sent directly into the National Transmission System, which acts like a motorway for gas, moving it quickly and efficiently across the country.
In addition to enabling the production of renewable energy, anaerobic digestion improves air quality by capturing pollutants such as ammonia.
CO₂ created during the biogas upgrading will be captured and liquefied for reuse in industry as Bio CO₂.
The plant has the potential to fuel Grosvenor Farm’s vehicles on its own biomethane, in due course.
Specialist Netherlands’ firm HoSt Bioenergy Systems, a global leader in renewable energy, has been commissioned to build the facility.
It is being constructed at Grosvenor Farms, providing convenient access to infrastructure while minimising the impact on the landscape, nearby roads and the environment.
Mark Roach, Managing Director, Grosvenor Farms, said, “This is a hugely significant investment into the future of farming at Grosvenor, strengthening our commitment to operating in both a commercially sustainable and environmentally responsible way.
“We believe the facility will result in an estimated 8,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent avoided a year – equal to taking 1,800 cars off the road – while generating enough biomethane, a renewable energy, to heat 6,000 homes annually, contributing to the UK’s resources via the national grid.
“As well as supporting employment during its construction, there will be four new long-term roles created, contributing to the local rural economy.”
Sjaak Klein Gunnewiek – Head of Sales at HoSt Bioenergy Systems said, “The collaboration between Grosvenor Farms and HoSt Bioenergy Systems on the realisation of an anaerobic digestion facility is a powerful example of how agriculture and technology come together to accelerate the energy transition. Together, we are reducing the nation’s carbon footprint and actively contributing to more resilient systems and sustainable farming practices in the UK. Partnerships like this are essential to reach our shared climate ambitions.”
Well done.
That is a fantastic project.
If all comparable farms did the same with assistance from he state by way of grant assistance, how big would the contribution be to the reduction of the national carbon footprint?
What is he projected return on investment?
Grosvenor Farms in Cheshire initiative to use animal and other organic waste to produce biomethane is not a new technology or its application, but the huge scale of this operation is new. With organic kitchen waste from domestic and commercial kitchens now collected every week by local authorities, this should all be processed in anaerobic digesters; unfortunately most will have to be burned because the nation does not have enough anaerobic digester capacity to deal with it. The biomethane can be use replace the fossil methane in our gas grid. In the meantime it can also be used to produce heat which can be used to power electricity generation, arguably not as good as using it to replace fossil methane in our gas grid, but far better than allowing the organic waste to decompose into methane in the open air such as in municipal waste dumps and sewage farms, as methane is a greenhouse gas that is around 27 times more powerful than CO2. That methane does however breakdown into CO2 in an average of 9 years, but allowing it to escape into the air is a waste of clean energy.