Ecotricity's plans for a new fleet of Green Gas Mills have taken a step forward today with the news the company has lodged a planning application for its first anaerobic digestion plant.
The green energy provider last year unveiled plans for three new green gas plants and has today confirmed that a planning application has been filed with Winchester City Council for the first facility at Sparsholt College. The £10m project will also include a renewable energy centre, which will provide students with specialist training for roles in the fast-expanding green gas industry.
Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, said there was a compelling economic and environmental rationale for investment in new green gas capacity.
"We have to stop burning fossil fuels, and green gas will play a big part in helping us to achieve that in Britain - it's good for our economy, because we'll no longer need to import those expensive fossil fuels; it's good for the environment, because it's carbon neutral and creates new wildlife habitats; and it's good for farmers, because it allows them to diversify, rely less on farming livestock, and build a more sustainable future," he said.
"The world signed up to the limiting temperature rise to well below 2C at the Paris Climate Conference last year - that included a long-term goal of being carbon neutral after 2050 and eventually carbon negative, which means taking more carbon out of the atmosphere than we put in. They're big ambitions - and green gas is essential to that vision."
He added that the Sparsholt project promised to be "one of the first in what will be a green gas revolution in this country - and what's particularly special is that, together with Sparsholt, we'll be helping to train the green gas engineers Britain will need".
Tim Jackson, Sparsholt College principal, said the project would address concerns raised by local residents about any potential impacts from the development. "We've carried out public consultation over the past four months with local councils, farmers and residents - and the feedback has been a mix of those who are very positive to those with concerns about the impact on local roads and the visual landscape," he said. "I am pleased to say that we were able to provide facts and explanations to address most of the concerns and look forward to responding to more of those as these arise."
If approved by Winchester City Council, Ecotricity is hoping to start construction of the project this year and begin generating energy in 2017, providing enough clean gas to power the equivalent of 4,000 homes every year.
The company said the facility would also create up to eight jobs and deliver £3m in benefits for the local economy for each year of its 20 year lifespan.
The project is also expected to act as a forerunner for a fleet of new Green Gas Mills. A spokesman for the company said planning permission for a second project in Gloucestershire would be sought within the next few months, while an announcement is also imminent on the location of a third facility in Somerset. He added that the company was looking at an additional half a dozen potential sites as it looks to expand its portfolio of wind and solar projects.
Ecotricity's Green Gas Mills are expected to run on grass and rye sourced from within 10 miles of its anaerobic digestion plants. The spokesman for the company said it was working closely with the RSPB and other organisations to ensure the new facilities deliver significant environmental benefits and was taking steps to make sure the feedstock it uses does not come from grade one and two farmland.
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