Food waste is being used as a resource at Granville Ecopark in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, where an enhanced anaerobic digestion facility uses food waste to produce biogas for electricity generation.
Edina says Granville Ecopark has the capacity to export 4.8 MWe of renewable electricity onto Northern Ireland’s local grid.
How Granville Ecopark uses food waste
Granville Ecopark operates an anaerobic digestion facility at Granville Industrial Estate in Dungannon.
The Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) says the facility uses both packaged and unpackaged food waste from local businesses and domestic customers to produce electricity from high-quality biogas.
Through anaerobic digestion, the food waste is broken down to generate gas and an organic by-product known as digestate. DAERA says the gas is burned in an engine to produce electricity, while digestate can be used as fertiliser and soil conditioner.
Edina describes Granville Ecopark as the largest Enhanced Anaerobic Digestion facility in Ireland taking only food waste as a resource.
The planning application dates back to 2009
The year 2009 refers to Granville Ecopark’s planning application, not the start of electricity generation.
The UK government’s Renewable Energy Planning Database records March 25, 2009 as the planning application date and September 1, 2013 as the construction date.
EnergyMap records June 10, 2014 as the project’s generator-live date.
4.8 MWe refers to export capacity
The 4.8 MWe figure refers specifically to Granville Ecopark’s capacity to export renewable electricity onto Northern Ireland’s local grid.
Edina separately lists a CHP capacity of 5.78 MWe for the project. Therefore, the 4.8 MWe figure should not be described as the facility’s total CHP capacity.
It also should not be interpreted as evidence that exactly 4.8 MW was continuously generated or exported. Edina describes 4.8 MWe as the facility’s capacity to export electricity.
Excess biogas can be converted into biomethane
Granville Ecopark’s excess biogas can also be used for further energy applications.
Edina says the facility’s expansion allows excess biogas to be cleaned into biomethane, which is transported across Northern Ireland to power combined heat and power engines and create renewable heat and electricity for customers.
The Northern Ireland government’s Prosperity Agreement also describes excess biogas being converted into biomethane and transported across Northern Ireland for use in CHP engines producing renewable heat and power.
DAERA says gas produced through anaerobic digestion can be burned in an engine to produce electricity or transported off-site to fuel engines at other locations.
Food waste becomes a source of renewable energy
Granville Ecopark connects food-waste treatment with energy generation. Food waste is processed through anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, while digestate is produced as a by-product that can be used as fertiliser and soil conditioner.
The facility has a stated capacity to export 4.8 MWe of renewable electricity onto Northern Ireland’s local grid. Its excess biogas can also be cleaned into biomethane and transported across Northern Ireland for use in combined heat and power engines at other locations.
