Renewable Energy Installer December/January 2014 | Page 46

Community spirit
A community-owned PV power plant has started feeding electricity to the grid
in Wedmore, Somerset
The 1MW power plant, off Quab Lane on the outskirts of the village, will
generate the same amount of electricity as 300 typical domestic solar arrays.
Every year it will save around 450 tonnes of carbon dioxide that would
otherwise be produced by burning fossil fuels. The £1.1m development has
been funded by local investors.
More than 125 people have bought shares in the project and two-thirds
are from the local area. The total invested so far is £654,000, with just over
£300,000 worth of shares still available and bonds also on offer.
Incentives for investors include a projected interest rate starting at 5
percent and averaging 9.5 percent over the 27-year life of the project and 30
percent tax relief under the government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme
Vanessa Becker Hughes from Wedmore Community Power Co-operative
said: “We have now installed the last of almost 4,000 solar photovoltaic panels
and are working hard to complete cabling for the second paddock. Later
this autumn, hedges of native species will be planted to provide additional
screening around the paddocks.”
Power surge: Almost 4000 PV panels have been
installed at Wedmore’s new community-owned
solar power plant, which is now feeding electricity
into the grid
Open for business
Emerald Biogas has announced the completion of its new anaerobic
digestion (AD) plant in County Durham
The £8m facility, based at Newton Aycliffe
Industrial Estate, is the North East’s first
commercial food waste facility and will
generate enough renewable energy to
power 2,000 homes each year.
The successful installation of the
combined heat and power (CHP) system
and other plant equipment by Entec Biogas
GmBH has enabled the testing phase to
be completed on time and the plant is now
processing food waste and creating energy.
The AD facility can process card and
plastics whilst a heavy duty depackaging
process can handle the more difficult waste
streams such as supermarket waste, which
is often triple packed and manufacturing
waste streams. The residual materials are
then sent to local recycling facilities, further
diverting waste from landfill. 
In addition to power generation, a
digestate will be spread onto local farmland,
which will increase organic matter as well
as improving soil condition and structure.
46 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
Cooking on gas: Emerald Biogas’ new £8m anaerobic digestion facility in County Durham will
supply clean electricity to 2000 homes and fertilizer from local food waste
Antony Warren, director of Emerald
Biogas, said: “I am delighted with the
progress made in terms of getting the plant
to this stage. We are now in the position to
accept and process unwanted commercial
food waste and employ the latest AD
technology to create a valued commodity
that will be extremely beneficial to the local
business and farming community.
“We are all excited for the positive
journey ahead, with expansion a strong
possibility. We would like to see Emerald
Biogas reach its full potential in the
near future.”