Renewable energy

“We are generating around 36GWh of renewable energy a year – enough to power 10,000 homes.”

We generate renewable energy at five sites in an area that spans a large part of the West Country including Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset.

Sludge, a by-product during one of the treatment stages, is processed through digesters at Avonmouth, Berry Hill, Poole, Salisbury and Taunton.

This process creates methane which is fed to on-site combined heat and power (CHP) units producing electricity and heat.

The heat is used for the digestion process that we use to treat waste and the power is used on site or exported to the local electricity network.

The volume of electricity produced in total each year is impressive at an estimated 36GWh – enough to power 10,000 homes for a year.

At our Avonmouth site we produce around 25GWh of power a year, which is enough to run the site, making it self-sustainable.

Sustainable approach

The relationship between digesters and CHP units is symbiotic because the digester needs heat, which is provided by our CHP units, while CHP units require gas which is provided by the digester.

We use our hundreds of years of in-house expertise to ensure our digesters and CHP units perform to their full potential, which in turn optimises the amount of energy produced.