Anaerobic Digester Open Day
Regular readers of the Rabbiter have seen letters about the anaerobic digester facility that has been built just over the motorway bridge on the way to Farleigh Wallop. Most of the correspondents were concerned about large trucks travelling through Hatch Warren. Of special concern was their movements around school opening and closing times and the failure of some drivers to use the nominated route, set by the county council, via Woodbury Road.
In recent time travellers over the motorway bridge had seen the construction of a road heading west, initially following the motorway and eventually winding up at some dome shaped buildings in the distance, flanked by trees. This is the site of the anaerobic digester that started operating last December.
Anaerobic digestion diverts organic waste from landfill to create renewable energy. In simple terms anaerobic digestion is a series of natural biological processes whereby organic waste material is broken down by micro-organisms and converted into energy, known as biogas, which in turn is used for both heat and the generation of electricity. The electricity from this plant is sufficient to power 3000 homes, which is fed into the National Grid and the by-product of the process is a nutrient rich biofertiliser used on local farmland.
As part of a policy by the facility’s operator, Tamar Energy, to keep local residents appraised of their operational policies, they opened up the unit to anyone who would be interested to look and learn about what happens on this site. On the morning of Saturday 27 September they held four pre-booked guided tours for over 50 locals. The experience was enlightening to say the least. Not only was the complete site spotlessly clean but there was little odour. The openness of the company to answer any questions was refreshing.
Tamar Energy was only formed in 2012 and raised over £97 million from such illustrious backers as the Duchy of Cornwall, the Rothschild family, Sainsbury’s and capital partners from the Middle East. The facility at Farleigh Wallop cost over £9 million and was the first to start up although three other sites are now working in the UK and others are either in construction or at planning stage. At Farleigh Wallop they employ six people on each 12 hours shift, working four days on and four days off. The site consumes over 30,000 tonnes of food and other organic waste per year including the contents of households’ green bins from some local authority areas and supermarket waste unfit for human consumption.
They are anxious to be seen as good neighbours and are conscious of the concerns about traffic movement in Hatch Warren. However they do not own the vehicles that deliver the waste to site but they do control some of the movements and hold trucks back until the school hours are over. They are confident that drivers on repeat journeys will follow the nominated route of Woodbury Road and they are aware that any transgressions will be made known to them.
More information can be obtained from their web site www.basingstokeAD.com or you can contact them by email at Basingstoke@tamar-energy.com or use Freephone 0800 8401229 (Mon-Fri 9am – 5pm).
