Infrastructure investment manager, Ancala Partners LLP, has acquired a 1.5MW operational anaerobic digestion facility (AD) in Edinburgh from Kelda Water Services.
The Millerhill facility, which has been sold for an undisclosed sum, will be integrated into Ancala’s UK AD platform, Biogen – a leading owner and operator of anaerobic digestion plants in the UK.
The partners said the facility is an “important long-term component” of the Zero Waste Plan being delivered by The City of Edinburgh council and Midlothian council, to meet the Scottish Government target of no more than 5% waste being sent to landfill by 2025.
Process
Discarded food collected by the two partner councils plus additional waste from local businesses and industries are recycled at the facility.
At the plant (see letsrecycle.com story), methane gas is produced and converted through a CHP engine into electricity. The process generates enough electricity to power approximately 3,300 homes, Ancala said. In addition to producing renewable green electricity, the facility converts food waste into a nutrient-rich biofertiliser that is PAS110-certified.
Commenting on the acquisition, Spence Clunie, managing partner, Ancala Partners LLP, said: “The Millerhill facility is an excellent asset serving an important market. By being integrated into our Biogen platform it will benefit from the resources and expertise of the Biogen team. This acquisition is another example of our ability to secure add-on investments to our platforms and promote businesses that benefit local communities.”
Adam Feneley, managing director, Biogen, added: “The Millerhill facility is an ideal addition to the Biogen portfolio and marks the first step of growth for the business since we became a part of Ancala last year. We look forward to working with the Edinburgh and Midlothian councils to facilitate their recycling targets, benefiting both the local community and wider Scottish environment.”
“The Millerhill facility is an ideal addition to the Biogen portfolio and marks the first step of growth for the business since we became a part of Ancala last year.”
Adam Feneley
Biogen
Biogen
Last year, letsrecycle.com reported that Biogen had been sold to Ancala for an undisclosed sum (see letsrecycle.com story).
Biogen is an established name in the UK’s anaerobic digestion sector, having been formed in 2005 by Bedfordia, and completing its first AD facility the following year. Kier then bought a 50% stake in the company in August 2012. Between 2008 and 2012 it was known as Biogen Greenfinch, following a merger with AD specialist Greenfinch.
The company’s eight anaerobic digestion plants recycle around a quarter of a million tonnes of food waste each year, the company reports, representing around 15% of the current food waste anaerobic digestion market.
According to the Ancala, in May last year, Biogen waste listed in the London Stock Exchange’s 1,000 Companies to Inspire Britain Report, which identifies the fastest-growing and most dynamic SMEs across the UK.
Zero Waste Plan
Ancala explained it actively supports the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan, for all waste to be seen as a resource and the amounts put into landfills minimised.
National Food Waste Conference | 28 February 2018 | Cavendish Conference Centre, London
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment