Sunday, December 18, 2011

French Biogas Injection Stations Move Foward as GrDF Selects Contractor To Provide Them

ESSEN, Germany, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Elster (NYSE: ELT) announced today that Gaz reseau Distribution France (GrDF), the main gas utility in France and wholly-owned subsidiary of GdF Suez that manages the longest natural gas distribution network in Europe, has selected Elster as the sole supplier to establish at least five biogas injection stations throughout the country. The first station will be delivered in the first quarter of 2012.





Here is our quoted section from the original article:

The two-year agreement calls for the stations to measure the quality of biogas  and inject it into GrDF's natural gas grid after it is processed by the producer through purification stations. Each station will be equipped with two Elster EnCal 3000 high-end process gas chromatographs, Elster rotary or turbine gas meters, electronic volume correctors and odorizing devices. All of the stations will be assembled in France by Elster.

Following the first tests of injections into GrDF's gas grid in Lille last July, this initiative marks the starting point of a new era for GrDF's natural gas grid. To enable use of this renewable energy source, the source  biogas first needs to be cleaned and transformed into biomethane, which has the same quality and energy characteristics as natural gas.

The Elster stations will allow GrDF to assure the precise volume and quality of biomethane it injects into the grid.

"Biomethane is an important strategic priority for France and a real stake for GrDF as part of the overall effort to develop cleaner, renewable energy sources," said Cedric Aubry, head of biogas projects at GrDF.

"Elster has worked with GrDF for more than 60 years, deploying both residential and commercial and industrial measurement applications, and recently piloted its residential automated meter reading system," said Michael Calovini, executive vice president of Elster's international gas business.

"We look forward to continuing to grow our partnership with GrDF as the utility continues developing its innovative approach to managing natural resources and integrating renewable energy sources," Calovini added.

About Elster

Elster (NYSE: ELT) is one of the world's largest electricity, gas and water measurement and control providers. Its offerings include distribution monitoring and control, advanced smart metering, demand response, networking and software solutions, and numerous related communications and services – key components for enabling consumer choice, operational efficiency and conservation. Its products and solutions are widely used by utilities in the traditional and emerging Smart Grid markets.

Elster has one of the most extensive installed revenue measurement bases in the world, with more than 200 million metering devices deployed over the course of the last 10 years. It sells its products and services in more than 130 countries across electricity, gas, water and multi-utility applications for residential, commercial and industrial, and transmission and distribution applications.

For more information about Elster, please visit www.elster.com.

View the original article here

Japanese Toilet Manufacturer Bio-gas Bike Ride A Big Success

One of the biggest visitor traffic jumps we have ever experienced in the four years in which we have been running this blog occurred when we featured Toilet Maker TOTO's publicity campaign. No doubt many others who featured the story saw public interest peak. It certainly was a very effective campaign at raising awareness of biogas and anaerobic digestion in Japan, and must have been a welcome light relief from all the tragic and weighty events which JAPAN HAS HAD TO DEALWITYH SINCE THE AERTHQUAKE EARLIER THIS YEAR.


At one stage at the peak of the campiagn, our blog was receiving over 1,000 vists per hour according to Google's statistics!


So, we cannot help saying that "Toilet maker is flushed with success after bio-gas bike ride!!




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Here is a quote from a recent article about the campiagn:



It's named Neo - part motorcycle, part toilet. Neo runs on eco-friendly biogas. Toto, the toilet company that created Neo, says the biogas that powers the bike was produced from sewage but is quick to point out that the rider does not not contribute to its supply. According to spokesman Kenji Fujita, it's a combination of livestock waste and household sewage, broken down and fermented to create fuel.


"The motorcycle carries two tanks which allow it to run for a total of 300 km at a speed of up to 70 km/h. It's a surprisingly nice way to travel." The toilet bike toured more then 1400 kilometers across Japan in an effort to promote the use of biogas. With a toilet for a seat and a giant role of toilet paper mounted on the rear, Ichie Tanaka, one of six volunteers who rode the bike says Neo definitely attracted attention.


"At first when I saw the bike, I was taken aback, but after riding the motorcycle, I found it quite interesting. It doesn't hurt at all and it's actually quite comfortable to sit on." Toto says while Neo may not run on human waste, it hopes future models will. The company says recycling human waste is a practical solution to the environmental problems caused by the use of fossil fuels.


The company believes it has come a long way toward achieving awareness about the use of biogas. Ichie Tanaka says she's is happy and relieved the journey is over. She says that while the bike was a pleasure to ride, after three long weeks - she is just plain pooped. Ben Gruber, Reuters.


Biogas is one of many forms of alternative energies being promoted as the way of the future, but no one has yet done it in the style of Japanese toilet manufacturer, Toto. The company has created a stir with what it calls its Toilet Bike Neo, a motorcycle that runs on biogas and looks like a toilet on wheels. Ben Gruber reported. ( Transcript )


View the original article here

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Bogas Plant Accident in Austria

At this blog we have recently had reason to question the UK industry's questionable practises by Biogas Plant installation and maintenance Contractors, and the Client's who appoint them, both of which have been seen to be less than perfect in the manner in which they are treating health and safety on Biogas Plant Sites.




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(Please don't expect to see any safety problems in this video - we simply thought you might like to see some good examples of biogas plants.)


Here we have another example. Is this a coincidental occurence or a warning to te industry to tighten its Health and Safety procedures before we see some really nasty accidents?



26. 10. 11. A man from Vienna is recovering after plunging from a factory in Burgenland.

The worker fell off a biogas station in Güssing, well known for its eco-friendly approach to electricity and heating issues this morning (Weds). He was busy removing casing fragments when he slipped and fell, according to radio news. The worker was taken to a clinic in Oberwart by ambulance.


The incident occurred three days after the body of an elderly holidaymaker was discovered at a hotel’s inner courtyard. The man, 62, from Linz in Upper Austria is understood to have lost his balance on the balcony of his room at night before plunging to his death. No one witnessed the incident, police in the Styrian town of Arnfels said on Monday. They said a physician examining the body ruled out foul play.


The number of industrial fatalities decreased by 57 per cent between 1990 and 2010, according to a labour ministry spokesman. The office of Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer said in August that 90 people lost their lives at work last year.


Around 280,000 Austrians sustained injuries doing household chores in the same year, according to insurer Allianz Austria (2000: 230,000). Cuts are most common at 40 per cent, followed by bruises (21 per cent), according to magazine profil which presented the insurance company’s figures.

Austrian Times


Maybe, Austrians need to be more careful when not at work, as well! See our site at www.anaerobic-digestion.com .


View the original article here

Friday, December 16, 2011

Swedish Help Begins a New Era in Which India Will Produce Biogas From Sewage Sludge

This is good news for the west and shows that India is becoming a participant in global warming prevention.


The Delhi Jal Board ready to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Swedish central authority for upgrading its sewage treatment plant at Keshopur, with a capacity of 72 million gallons a day, for the purposes of manufacturing biogas from sewage sludge. The 2 year pilot project, first of it's type in India, suggests to utilize the sludge produced in the sewage treatment process and change it to compressed biogas that'd be entirely compatible with Delhi's grid of Compressed Natural Gas ( CNG ).


The DJB will then use the gas to fuel over 120 DTC buses at the Keshopur filling station. We understand that DJB is a stakeholder / financier in the project, providing land and gas for the project.


We are going to consider commercial sales later on dependent on the successfulness of this pilot project," DJB's chief engineer for the project. For the upgrade and distribution of biogas, a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ) will be signed on Wed. between the DJB, Indraprastha Gas Limited and Swedish company KG Renewables L.T.D , in the shadow Delhi Chief Secretary P K Tripathi and Swedish envoy Lars-Olof Lindgren. The Keshopur STP will ne able to produce up to 25,000 cubic metre of the newable fuel/ gas each day.


Here is a quote from the news item:



"The signing of the MoU is supported by the Government of Sweden and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, in line with the Indo-Swedish MoU on renewable energy. It is an innovative way to achieve energy conservation" DJB CEO Ramesh Negi said.


"The new technology will upgrade biogas to the highest-quality CNG, and will ensure minimal leakage of methane. It will also contribute to environment conservation by reducing 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year," a DJB official said.


Biogas is produced through the process of Anaerobic Digestion.


Be sure to visit the original website to View the original article here

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Renewables Have No Prospect of Becoming Economically Competitive

Renewable Energy has no prospect?
Believe it or not, that headline is a direct quote from a new report from the right wing Adam Smith Institute, titled "Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage?" which was published on December 12.


The Edie.net web site has picked up on this report. I include a portion of their article as a quote below, but for the full text you should visit their web site:

The report has been criticised by the renewables industry as the 'same little clique of people repeating the same tired old arguments'. 
According to the report the government's focus on renewable energy sources is misguided and unrealistic.
As these technologies cannot provide the secure energy supply the country needs and could potentially lead to an energy crisis by the middle of this decade. 
The report concludes the 'official enthusiasm' for renewables has more to do with the 'power of the green lobby'. 
Joint author Martin Livermore: said: "For too long, we have been told heavy investment in uneconomic renewable energy was not only necessary but would provide a secure future electricity supply. 
"The facts actually show that current renewables technologies are incapable of making a major contribution to energy security and - despite claims to the contrary - have only limited potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. 
"It seems ministers have not yet realised the need to invest in more nuclear and gas generating capacity if the electorate is not to be badly let down." "


It is of course hard to contest that nuclear and gas are the most viable energy sources for base load electricity demand for the near future. 


Renewable sources are "orders of magnitude" smaller, and the shear numbers of facilities needed will take time to gather investment funds, build, and train the owners in operating. So, governments should not be distracted from pushing forward with the next generation of nuclear and gas installations, nor take their attention away from those just because renewables might seem attractive.


A quick look around the web and you will find that the opposing view to that made in the Adam Smith Institute report is well made on blogs such as the Maritime Journal where they announce that the anti-renewables report is "slammed" and quote s follows:



Dr Gordon Edge, director of policy at RenewableUK said: “This report is simply another example of the same little clique of people repeating the same tired old arguments against renewable energy, regardless of the facts. Their report cannot be seen as an impartial piece of research - it was written by anti-renewables campaigners.”
The report even goes so far as to suggest that the UK generates electricity by importing vast quantities of expensive fossil fuels from abroad, rather than utilising the free and abundant low carbon source of wind energy that it has at its disposal.
This is because renewable energy sources "only produce power intermittently so they can’t replace gas, coal or nuclear."
RenewableUK has hit back that wind turbines generate electricity 80-85% of the time and that it’s not that the gas industry needs a more viable back-up, it needs wind energy to supplement it and deal with demand.

So far the Anaerobic Digestion Community seems not to have risen to the bait, to counter this report. 
A quick internet search revealed no that there are no responses online today which defend Anaerobic Digestion. That is surprising as so much of the case made by the anti-renewables lobby is about the lack of availability of other competitor renewable energy sources wind and solar when there is no wind and the sun isn't shining. 
Anaerobic digestion is so different and much better. It will always win over those renewable sources precisely when neither solar nor wind power will deliver. That's during those very cold windless winter nights (and cloudy overcast days) which are exactly those times when peak power demands will require every power station in the land to be belting out power as fast as they can go! 
That's how anaerobic digestion power generation earns its strategic "weight in gold" allowing the community to avoid building power stations which will only ever be needed on those peak demand days. Providing power for those coldest days, risks having to keep open old fossil fuel power stations which don't run for the rest of the year, at a huge cost for the power they do create.
So, if you would like to make the case for anaerobic digestion. If you don't agree that "renewables have no prospect of becoming economically competitive".  Don't forget that we have a comments facility below (click through to the "posts page if you can't see the comments form) for you to comment and air your views. Or, if you know of a web site where anaerobic digestion has been defended please add that link to your comment.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

PURPA Plus Can Be The Biogas Friendly Bill For The US?

PURPA Plus bill permits states to make their own calls about eco-friendly energy. Since the US's General Public Application Regulatory Act was passed in 1978, power resources have been needed to pay an "avoided cost" rate to particular kinds of tiny power production, cogeneration facilities and other kinds of qualifying facilities.




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That rate is generally the price of the least expensive sort of power the use has in its portfoliousually coaland that could be a price with which little renewable power suppliers can't compete. More than twenty years after, PURPA is doing something it wasn't intended forlimiting individual states' capability to make their own choices about incentivizing little distributed clean energy.


A new bill introduced in the Senate Energy & Resources Board nonetheless, could change that. PURPA And , which is meant to inspire distributed generation of eco-friendly energy, would take away the evaded cost limitation and let states set their own costs, according to Patrick Serfass, manager of the North American Biogas Council.


In numerous cases, PURPA makes micro-scale green energy generation unfeasible. As an example, if a biogas producer has to turn on his facility's lights or use power for something else, he is doubtless paying a retail rate, Serfass says.



"If he's selling any power back, he's getting a little fragment of that rate, so he isn't even getting paid the same rate he is being charged. Mostly, they just need to pay you for the price of avoiding an identical quantity of electricity from coal."



PURPA Plus is a route for states to raise that price to incentivize distributed replaceable electricity generation.



"Generally in the energy industry it makes the most sense to supply your own electricity where you want it as it costs cash to move it some place," Serfass explains. "If you have got a hereabouts available resource, and folks who want energy regionally, why not produce and use it there? That is where distributed generation comes in.




If states need to inspire that, not only will it create business for those firms and roles, but also increases the quantity of electricity the state produces with no need to upgrade transmission systems." The most significant element of PURPA And is that it permits states a choice, and it's at no charge to taxpayers.


Serfass says.

“It’s a gateway for states to create more incentives, one of which could be a feed-in tariff. That would allow biogas projects to compete with other traditional energy sources on a level playing field.”


Though it’s less of a priority, the ABC would like to see PURPA Plus tweaked so that the cap is raised from 2 to 5 megawatts..

“Over half of current biogas projects are less than that, but a lot of larger projects in the works are between two and five,” Serfass says. “A slightly larger project could have a big impact on the industry.”



The ABC is urging its members to write their senators to request support of the bill.

“With the current Congress being focused on cutting our federal budget and reducing costs everywhere, this bill is important because it doesn’t cost taxpayers any money,”
Serfass reiterates.
“It’s a really valuable piece of legislation.”


View the original article here

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Low US Energy Prices Likely to Kill Biogas Project

I was amazed to read this article, which is quoted below. "Low energy prices" - do these people live on the same planet as the rest of us? This would have been an exceeding forward thinking and imaginative scheme.



An eagerly anticipated feasibility study on Cayuga County’s biogas pipeline concept has not yet been published, but it appears that economic and political factors may lead some interested farmers in another direction.




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The current proposal, for a county-built pipeline connecting several large farms with the county’s industrial park in Aurelius, is the latest iteration of an idea that’s been in the works for about a decade.


The thinking of the farmers and their public and private partners has evolved with the vagaries of energy markets, politics and public opinion, with the fluctuating price of natural gas being perhaps the biggest variable.




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From the 1970s until the turn of the century, the cost of natural gas stayed near $2 for 1,000 cubic feet. But beginning in 2000, it started on a steady rise, hitting a high of $10.79 in July 2008.


For investors, the calculus was simple: as traditional energy prices continued to rise, it became more and more appealing to explore alternative energy sources, biomethane gas first among them.


In the last three years, however, those historic high gas prices have fallen back to Earth, trading at $3.82 this September.


The lower the natural gas prices, the less incentive to find an alternative-energy replacement, something Spruce Haven Farm owner Doug Young acknowledged in an interview last week.


“Low energy prices are the reason this (pipeline) is probably not going to happen,” he said. “A few years ago the energy prices were high and people were very concerned about climate change. Since they’ve found these huge reserves of natural gas and are tapping into them and it looks like the U.S. has a long-term supply of fossil fuel, it looks like it took the pressure off.”


That price swing complicated two previous efforts to get the pipeline built with public and private funding.


In 2006, Long Island energy development company Global Common received a $1 million grant from NYSERDA for a cooperative project with Spruce Haven and Oakwood farms, two of the county’s largest dairies.


In the grant application, Global Common CEO Robert Foxen described a $17 million project to develop a centralized anaerobic digester at Oakwood, converting manure from four farms into biogas liquid fertilizer , liquid fertilizer and solids usable for bedding.


Foxen predicted 125 new full-time jobs, $75 million in construction and an increase in milk sales from $22 million a year to $67 million a year, the result of tripling the cow population at the participating farms to 21,000.


The digester was to have generated about five megawatts of electricity at start-up and up to 15 megawatts over the next 20 years, to be sold back into the grid through a long-term purchase agreement.


Of the $1 million, Global Common collected $100,000 for meeting preliminary planning goals, but never moved forward with the project.


For one thing, the two other farms that were to join Spruce Haven and Oakwood never materialized, according to Thomas Siesinger, the project manager with NYSERDA.


“We’re not really pushing that because the farms aren’t pushing it and want to go another way,” Siesinger said. “That money is still on the table (but) I guess I’d be surprised if they went back to the two-farm proposal or even the pipeline one.”


Young, the project leader, said he believed the remaining $900,000 from NYSERDA is no longer available.


Global Common is no longer intimately involved in the pipeline planning but could still have an interest in marketing the gas if anything ever gets built.


“There has been discussion of what their role could be in the project,” said Kelly O’Hara of Oakwood. “Really, (Foxen) is just willing to do whatever makes sense and helps. ... It’s a whole different realm from dairy farming.”


Foxen declined to comment on the NYSERDA grant or Global Common’s involvement with the pipeline, saying he was no longer up to date on the project.


Two years after granting $1 million to Global Common, NYSERDA heard another pitch for funding related to the pipeline.


This time, the solicitor was NYSEG, which has held informal discussions with the farmers over the years concerning the distribution and sale of whatever power may be generated.


In a 2008 presentation -- just when natural gas prices were at a record high -- a NYSEG representative told NYSERDA that the company was negotiating a gas purchase agreement with the farmers, known collectively as Cayuga Renewable Energy.


He detailed a two-fold project: first, the farmers would design and build on-site digesters at a combined (private) cost of about $13.5 million.


Second, the biogas would be cleaned and delivered via a pipeline to a NYSEG metering station, from where it would go into Auburn’s distribution system.


NYSEG requested $500,000 in funding for the second part only, part of what it estimated would be a $1.65 million project.


That state funding never materialized, largely because NYSEG cooled on the idea.


“For a variety of reasons, including the economic downturn and a reduction in the market price of natural gas, the project did not move forward,” company spokesman Clayton Ellis wrote in an email.


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In the short term, the decision on the project’s progress rests with the county Legislature, which is awaiting the results of a feasibility study.


County Planning Director Stephen Lynch originally forecast that the first part of the $125,000 study would be public by the end of October.


That release has been delayed by a recent ruling from the state Public Service Commission that could change how farmers use their energy output.


Until this summer, the amount of electricity farmers could sell back to a utility company was limited by their usage at the meter to which the generator is hooked up.


The problem is that large farms can have as many as 20 different meters. The new state ruling issued this summer, and a new law passed by the state Legislature, allow farmers to combine their usage on all meters, a concept known as remote net metering.


The bottom line is that farms will be able to sell back much more electricity, with the possible consequence that they will no longer need a pipeline to get rid of excess energy.


Lynch said the supply side of the equation -- how much gas the farms can generate -- is more significant than the question of demand or natural gas prices.


“If the supply isn’t there, the gas price is a moot point,” he said.


The Legislature voted in July to spend up to $49,000 on the study and associated legal fees, but the county has spent almost none of that money so far by using state funds first, Lynch said.


O’Hara said he believed the pipeline has been the victim of unfair negative publicity and encouraged the county “to get out and do some PR work and make people understand that this is collecting energy that would essentially be wasted.”


“We don’t need this -- we’ll continue operating our farms the same way,” he said. “It’s just an opportunity for the county to attract some new industry. ... I think overall the level of interest (among farmers) is the same, but the economics of it is that it will either make sense or it won’t.”


Has anyone thought about phoshpate reserves? If chemical fertilizers will continue to be used then someone should be conisdering for how long phosphate sources will continue to be available at current prices...


View the original article here

Bore Hill Farm Biodigester - Rural Property Developer to Open New Wiltshire AD Plant

More good news of another new AD Plant project:



A Wiltshire-based rural property developer is diversifying into renewables, with plans to open its first anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Warminster next year.




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Malaby Biogas, sister company of Malaby Martin Ltd, which has specialised in rural redevelopment for over 10 years, will begin commissioning the £5 million Bore Hill Farm Biodigester in the second quarter of 2012.


It will be Wiltshire’s first commercial AD plant and will be capable of processing up to 20,000 tonnes of commercial food waste and generating 500 kilowatts of green energy, the company said. The renewable energy will be fed into the National Grid, but will also supply nine business units set to open on the site in 2013, thereby creating jobs and offering low cost heat and power to commercial users. 


"There is growing pressure on businesses in the food sector to dispose of their waste in a far more responsible and efficient manner than simply sending it to landfill," said Thomas Minter, director at Malaby Biogas, who added that by using local labour and British skills, Malaby was able to provide "real benefit in tough economic times."


In addition, Bore Hill Farm Biodigester will produce 15,000 tonnes of digestate which to be sold to farmers for agricultural use, as an alternative to traditional fertilizer.


View the original article here

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Poor Anaerobic Digestion Industry Safety Standards Criticised by Long Established Contractor

Strong Criticism has been given of Anaerobic Digestion Industry Safety Standards for Its Workforce by respected industry insider Landia.

The experienced process industry supplier Landia feels so strongly about a lack of Biogas safety within the biogas industry, so much so that it has issued a press release on the subject. "Standards demand attention" – say Landia.

Pain like this and far worse will be the harsh reality for Anaerobic Digestion plant workers and management if the young industry does not pay more attention to safety on its sites.
Landia says it and several other established pump and mixer manufacturers are seriously concerned about health and safety at biogas plants, which they claim range from excellent to poor, to non-existent.


To date in the UK it is fortunate that there has (as far as we know) only been one biogas fatality, when a 29-year-old man was overcome by methane fumes at a farm anaerobic digester unit, but according to Landia, the thirst of the young industry to grow and become profitable has moved far faster than basic health and safety regulations.
“Our experience at some sites, quite frankly, has been a joke”
, states Landia’s Paul Davies.
“Recently we were asked to work up 8-metre ladders with large drills, which we explained we couldn’t and wouldn’t even consider doing because it’s totally unsafe – and is of course against all health and safety laws and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations.  It wasn’t that the customer was trying to cut corners; they simply didn’t know.  Maybe this is to be expected in a young industry? – but if that’s the case there needs to be some immediate training and education”.

Davies points to Landia’s 97% pass rate for UVDB VERIFY Approval, but says this exacting standard, which covers all areas of Health & Safety, Quality and Environment, Management Systems and On-Site actions, isn’t recognised by the AD industry.  He says that promotion and direction from trade associations needs to be significantly improved, with a minimum standard implemented very soon.

Landia’s UK & Eire Director Hugh Vaughan said:
“This isn’t just another ‘what if’, or one of those ‘perish the thought’ plugs for safety or insurance. What Landia have witnessed both in the UK and abroad is frightening. So far it’s just pure good fortune that serious accidents haven’t happened”.
He continued: “Apart from shouting out a suitable four-letter warning or such like, there isn’t much you can say when, with your own eyes, you see somebody perched on the edge of a high top rail of a tank whilst he’s unclipping a membrane cover that happens to be partially inflated. Or young workmen walking over the top of a partially unclipped membrane when the digester is full!

“Don’t take a chance. Consider the consequences before placing that biogas order, and make sure those you’ve chosen to work with a company that has a proper understanding of how a biogas plant works, how to maintain it, and how to do it safely”.

Read more at Landia's web site, click here.

Is it possible that Farming Industry and other AD Plant clients are not aware of their responsibilities for Health and Safety in the way in which other industries are? Managers and indeed anyone commisioning contractors to come onto the site of an Anaerobic Digestion Plant within all small businesses are responsible for ensuring that they provide all necessary H&S information to the Contractor. They must also ensure that their appointed contractors have demonstrated to them their competence for carrying out such works safely, before they award work to them.

This should include providing a Method Statement and Working Methods for the work to be done, and which must include DSEAR Compliance where any explosion risk is also potentially present. For DSEAR advice contact info@anaerobic-digestion.com and ask for DSEAR compliance information for AD Plants.

Teesside Anaerobic Digestion Go Ahead Announced Under UK Regional Growth Fund Funding


The UK Government has signed off seven more Regional Growth Fund deals helping two waste energy projects to get going along with a factory scheme and science park, including one Anaerobic Digestion Plant.


Here is the news item:


INTRODUCTION


Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced a further two bidding rounds for cash after the Chancellor revealed plans to set aside a further £1bn pot of cash to create jobs.




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Cities will be encouraged to put forward innovative programmes and packages of projects in future rounds.


Clegg said: “This additional billion pound boost for British businesses means the Regional Growth Fund will create an estimated half a million jobs before the end of this parliament.


“With this targeted support for companies we’re unlocking private sector investment, with at least £5 put in for every £1 of public money.


The Regional Growth Fund was launched in October 2010.


So far it has allocated £1.4bn through two bidding rounds. There were 50 successful projects in the first round sharing £450m. More than 50% of the projects from the first round are already up and running.


In the second round, 119 bids received conditional allocations of funding, with a further 10 requiring further discussion.


Of these 10, seven have funding conditionally allocated to them, increasing the number of bids receiving a share of £950m to 126, and the total of new and existing jobs supported to 244,000.


Of the 244,000 jobs created or protected, around 38,000 will be directly created jobs, and more than 170,000 will be in the supply chain.


AND THE AD PLANT IS:


A BF Biogas Limited Project to build an anaerobic digestion plant in Teesside, converting food and garden waste into biogas for power generation.


View the original article here