A long-established North East company has signed up to a pioneering renewable energy project that aims to help the environment in a number of ways.
The £45m project from AMP Clean Energy will see an energy centre containing electric and biomass boilers built at Simpsons Malt Limited’s Tweed Valley Maltings headquarters in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland. The energy generated will replace fossil fuel gas currently used in the production of malt, a key ingredient of whisky.
The project aims to save 25,000 tonnes of carbon each year and its backers say it will also reduce carbon emissions at the UK’s largest malting site by around 80%. It will see renewable biomass fuel used as an energy storage mechanism which can be utilised during periods when there is no excess renewable electricity generation.
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In what is believed to be a UK first, a high voltage electrical boiler will be powered by wind energy that would otherwise have been switched off when there was too much wind, allowing for increased renewable electricity generation and reduced compensation payments to wind energy generators. Currently, the UK energy grid isn’t able to store large amounts of excess renewable energy or transmit it to other locations so there is no option but to ask wind companies to turn off turbines on windy days, receiving compensation each time.
Mark Tarry CEO AMP Clean Energy, said: “We are proud to be able to support Simpsons Malt Limited on their decarbonisation journey with this trailblazing low carbon project that will deliver large scale Scope 1 emission reductions. This initiative is so exciting because it uses local, low value biomass as a form of energy storage that can provide decarbonisation when the wind doesn’t blow.
“This is the first project of a kind in the UK and the first time a high-voltage electric boiler will decarbonise an industrial heat process. It could be replicated across other industries. This project will save consumers money and drive forward the broader energy transition towards a net zero future. The project is also AMP’s largest single investment to date.”
The scheme will be completed next summer. The biomass boiler will use locally sourced wood chip that brings previously under-managed woodlands into commercial use.
Steven Rowley, operations director at Simpsons Malt Limited, said: “As a Certified B Corporation, we are committed to minimising the impact of our operations on the environment and operating this Energy Centre at our Tweed Valley Maltings will be an important step in our objective of achieving net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030, giving us a company wide reduction of around 55%.
“As a result, the malt that leaves our Tweed Valley Maltings – 90% of which is destined for the distilling industry – will have a significantly reduced carbon footprint, helping our distilling customers deliver on their own sustainability objectives while also positively impacting the sector as a whole.”
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