GIB to pour GBP 3.2m in N Ireland biogas projects

Jul 3, 2014 - The UK Green Investment Bank said yesterday it will channel GBP 3.2 million (USD 5.5m/EUR 4m) into the construction of two on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) plants in Northern Ireland.

The lender will collaborate with fund manager Foresight Group to help finance the two schemes in County Tyrone and County Down. The projects are expected to be the first of several similar developments in the area.

More specifically, Foresight’s UK Waste Resources and Energy Investments (UKWREI) Fund will pour GBP 1.5 million into the GBP-3-million Cookstown project of PAR Renewables. The group of three livestock farmers intends to build an AD plant on their land, which is expected to generate 3,600 MWh of electricity per year, enough for 850 homes.

GIB will also provide GBP 1.7 million for the Banbridge project, worth GBP 3.5 million, to be constructed by local dairy farmer James Cromie on his property. The system is estimated to produce about 3,600 MWh of power annually, too.

The remaining financing for both projects will come from engineering firm Williams Industrial Services, which was also selected to construct and maintain the facilities.

Northern Ireland currently has eight operational AD plants.

Anaerobic digestion is the process of converting organic matter, such as green waste, into biogas in the absence of oxygen. That biogas is then used for power generation.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.715/EUR 1.256)

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