R&R Ice cream waste to power UK homes
A new UK project involving ice cream manufacturer R&R Ice Cream will turn ice cream by-product into biogas for the National Grid. The by-product, consisting of sugar, fat and protein left behind after production line cleansing, is to be transformed into biomethane, a biogas. This will then go to the National Grid to heat British homes, thanks to the nearby anaerboic digestion (AD) facility funded by Iona Capital and operated by resource management company, Veolia.
Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice president, Veolia UK & Ireland, says, “This project is a prime example of using creative thinking to turn waste into green energy. It’s innovation like this that is needed to ensure the UK meets the government’s 2020 targets, and something we’re hoping to build on.”
Mike Dunn, director of Iona Capital, adds, “Green infrastructure has the government’s backing and it is an area that we are seeing more and more investors taking an interest in. This is especially true with local authority and public sector pension funds who want to show their members they are investing responsibly.”
The raw material that goes into this facility would otherwise be discarded and sent to landfill. Now, it is not only avoiding landfill, but the by-product that is leftover at the end of the AD process is a nutrient rich fertiliser that can be distributed to farms to improve crop production.
The facility, which is one of the largest gas to grid energy plants in the UK, is now fully functional, and will contribute to the government’s target for 20% of the UK’s energy generation to come from green energy by 2020.
