First UK AD Plant Certified Under New Performance Scheme is Granville Ecopark

It seems like no time at all since I attended the ADBA conference session at which their AD Plant Certification Scheme as launched in the first week of December, in London, and already the first certificate has been issued.

The first business to be awarded under the scheme is Granville Ecopark. They become the first UK AD plant certified under the new performance scheme.

The scheme has been launched after about 2 years spent by an ADBA member committee in consulting on the essential elements of Anaerobic Digestion facility design and operation good practise.

The aim of the scheme is to help raise the overall standards of operation of UK biogas plants, in all areas.

The group founding the scheme has found that a major benefit for those operators who qualify will be lower insurance charges, and there have been suggestions that the cost of becoming certified will frequently be more than offset by reductions in insurance charges for Certified AD Facilities.

A copy of the full ABDA Press Release follows:

Northern Irish plant treats organic waste to produce renewable energy Plant is first to be certified under new Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme Scheme was launched just six weeks ago at the ADBA National Conference 2017 Granville Ecopark, an award-winning enhanced anaerobic digestion (AD) facility based in Northern Ireland, has become the first AD plant in the UK to achieve certification under the recently launched AD Certification Scheme (ADCS), an industry-led initiative that recognises good operational, environmental, and health and safety performance at AD plants.

The scheme was launched just six weeks ago at the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources   ssociation’s ADBA National Conference 2017 following a successful pilot earlier in the year  involving three different AD plants. The ADCS has been developed in collaboration with a range of industry stakeholders including regulators, insurers, investors, and operators and is managed by ADBA, the UK’s trade body for AD.

Granville Ecopark is the largest AD facility in Ireland taking only food waste as a resource and has capacity to export 4.8 MWe of renewable electricity onto Northern Ireland’s local grid. Recent expansion now allows the plant to clean up excess biogas into biomethane, which is being transported all over Northern Ireland to power CHP engines and create renewable heat and electricity for its customers.

David McKee, Technical Director at Granville Ecopark, said:

We are delighted to be the first UK AD plant certified under this new scheme. It gives us the confidence that we are attaining the highest standards within the industry and will drive us forward to remain at the top. We hope that others will now follow in our footsteps and apply for certification to help boost their environmental credentials and further highlight how important the AD industry is for the future of renewable energy throughout the UK.

Nick Johnn, Director at Aardvark Certification Limited, the ADCS’s official certification body, said:

We’re delighted to announce Granville Ecopark as the first AD plant to be certified under the ADCS. Aardvark was proud to be appointed as the first and currently only certification body for the scheme, which we see as vital to assuring performance and raising standards in what is such an important industry. It was great to receive Granville Ecopark’s application so soon after the ADCS was launched at the ADBA National Conference 2017 back in December, and this will hopefully be the first of many applications. We look forward to working with many more AD plants who are looking to demonstrate that they are meeting high operational, environmental, and health and safety standards.

Charlotte Morton, ADBA Chief Executive, said:

To have the first plant certified under the ADCS just six weeks after the scheme was launched is hugely encouraging and shows the support within the AD industry for raising its performance across the board and recognising good practice in running plants. ADBA will continue to speak to AD operators about the many benefits of the ADCS both for operators themselves and for the wider industry, including increased support from politicians, regulators, insurers, and investors.

In September 2017 Granville Ecopark also became the first AD plant to obtain a Prosperity Agreement with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency whereby the two parties have pledged to work together to develop innovative solutions to maximise energy production and work with the community to deliver environmental initiatives. Amidst this success Granville Ecopark has also been recognised as Market Development leaders with a prestigious award from Sustainable Ireland for its work in food waste and the circular economy.

Visit the Anaerobic Digestion Certification Scheme (ADCS) website: www.adcertificationscheme.co.uk

Check out the Granville Ecopark website: http://granvilleecopark.com/ 

Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) website: www.adbioresources.org