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To the moon and back: food waste energy boost

Picture of SCOTTISH WATER

SCOTTISH WATER

Scottish Water Horizons’ Deerdykes Bioresources Centre near Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire has generated 50 GWh of green electricity – the equivalent of powering 13,500 homes for a year.

“We’re diverting huge amounts of food waste from going to landfill where it would break down to produce methane – a dangerous greenhouse gas.”

Colin Lindsay
Operations Manager, Scottish Water Horizons

Since 2010, Deerdykes has saved more than 170,000 tonnes of carbon. That’s like driving over six million miles in a car – or to the Moon and back 12 times.

The facility harnesses gas from food waste using anaerobic digestion to generate green energy using a combined heat and power engine (CHP).

Food waste is broken down in sealed, oxygen-depleted tanks to produce energy-rich biogas. This is then converted into electricity through the CHP engines, as well as a natural fertiliser for use in agricultural land spreading.

Colin Lindsay, Operations Manager at Scottish Water Horizons said: “The numbers are impressive but quite difficult to visualise – particularly if you try to imagine 500 million kettles being boiled at once, or driving six million miles in your car.

“There is the added bonus that we are diverting huge amounts of food waste from going to landfill where it would break down to produce methane – a dangerous greenhouse gas.”

Around a million tonnes of food is thrown away in Scotland each year. A number of local authorities across west-central Scotland transport waste to Deerdykes along with waste from many food producers and businesses.

Scottish Water Horizons is the commercial arm of Scottish Water and plays an important part in helping the organisation meet its Net Zero ambitions, by maximising opportunities for green energy production on Scottish Water sites.

Scottish Water was a proud participant at the recent COP 26 – the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Glasgow.

As Scotland’s public water and waste water services provider, protecting and enhancing the environment is a priority. Scottish Water has already committed to reaching Net Zero by 2040 – five years ahead of the Scottish Government’s national targets.

As well as transforming the delivery of key services, Scottish Water works with a wide range of partners to contribute towards wider carbon reductions.

CASE STUDY

Douglas Park Community Consultation in Dundee

Scottish Water has been a partner in a project, led by the local community and supported by the National Lottery’s Community Fund, to regenerate the site once occupied by Douglas Primary School as a multi-functional greenspace.

Our team worked with the community to incorporate sustainable drainage features in the new park, which store and slowly release the rainwater that falls on surrounding roads and rooftops during storms. This eases pressure on the combined sewer network in the local area, as well as helping to protect the local environment and reduce flood risk from the Dighty Burn. Importantly, the community has been able to realise its wider aims by creating an attractive outdoor space that also provides a home for wildlife; and can be enjoyed for play, relaxation, exercise, events and the growing of food.

Planning is now underway to introduce more sustainable water management measures in the area surrounding the park, with the aim of disconnecting over 40,000m2 of land area from the combined sewer network; and helping to enable the development of more social housing in Douglas. Engagement with the community, including schools and other key stakeholders, is being carried out to help shape the proposals.

Work with the community and Dundee City Council on sustainable drainage for Douglas has helped to inspire the Water Resilient Dundee partnership. This initiative is now pursuing opportunities for more sustainable management of stormwater across the city, reducing flood risk in communities, creating capacity for development and enhancing amenity.