Biogas plant bid for Bressingham farm
Bressingham, Norfolk. Des Aves of Oak Farm who has applied for planning permission to build a Biogas digester plant on his farm which will be partly fuelled by pig manure
Local residents are being consulted from this week on plans by a Bressingham farmer to install a biogas plant to produce electricity.
Des Aves, of RG Aves and Partners, The Oaks, Kenninghall Road, hopes to install the thermophilic anaerobic digester system at his farm to process on-site pig manure, chicken litter and bedding.
The waste material will be supplemented by maize silage grown as an energy crop at the farm. It is estimated the plant will produce enough electricity to power up to 1,200 homes.
Mr Aves is the third generation of his family to farm the 800-acre arable and livestock business and at any one time has 3,000 pigs and 30,000 chickens on-site.
He said the plant would produce “totally green energy” and help secure the long-term future of the farm. “Everything I see about it is positive. We have always spread manure on our fields and will still be making use of it but generating electricity as well without any waste whatsoever.”
If the plant gets the go-ahead, it will be built by Green Oil Technologies and sited next to a chicken shed and straw barn away from public roads or footpaths. The animal slurries will be processed though a series of tanks cutting out the smells to produce a high quality fertiliser for the farm and biogas for electricity. Heat will also be generated and will be fed back into the system and possibly used to heat the nearby chicken shed. “If the plans all go through, we hope to be up and running this autumn,” Mr Aves said.
The unit is designed to run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, apart from some downtime for servicing, but technical director at Green Oil Technologies Tom Cree said: “None of the houses in the surrounding area will be able to hear anything at all. The tanks are all underground and there will be a three-metre high acoustic fence around it, and on the side away from the building we will be planting hedging.”
Site notices were due to go up this week. Neighbours and other consultees will also receive notice, with at least 21 days to comment on the plans.
Green Oil Technologies was involved in a similar plant at Blo’ Norton which was opposed by a number of residents concerned over noise and traffic movements. The company is currently looking at the issues raised.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Attempted theft of phone cabling in north Suffolk
- William Hill gets the go-ahead to open new betting office in Diss
- BREAKING: Home cordoned off after anti-tank grenade found in north Suffolk village
- Temperature forecast to drop combined with strong winds over the course of the week in the Diss Express area
- Obituary: Former Eye Primary School headteacher John Harvey
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Diss
Thursday 20 June 2013
Today
Thunderstorm
Temperature: 13 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South west
