Harper Adams University College expands its commitment to sustainable energy

The plant, worth more than £3m, is expected to generate heat and power from farm and food waste by the end of March 2011 and is expected to offset campus carbon emissions more than three times over. It will also create jobs and everyone from farmers to primary school pupils will be able to find out more about renewable energy technology from the site. Other products of the process are a liquid fertiliser and compost, which can be used for the University College's farm and grounds operations, reducing reliance on manufactured fertilisers. Principal of Harper Adams, David Llewellyn, said: "We are incredibly pleased that Harper Adams has been able to use this funding to make its AD plans a reality and we are excited to be here with partners today to finally start work on the site. "Food and farm waste can be digested in the AD unit and recycled into three useful by-products instead of being left to degrade in landfill or elsewhere, leaking methane into the atmosphere. Biogas will fuel a unit producing both heat and power meaning we will be sheltered from fluctuating energy prices for at least the next 10 years and will make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions for our campus." Don Leiper, managing director of E.ON's Energy Services business, added: "The way we create and use energy is changing and projects like this will help us develop new, sustainable energy solutions for the future. "Smaller, community scale, renewable energy projects such as this have two benefits; they provide a secure, reliable and low carbon energy supply whilst also making use of a valuable waste resource that would otherwise be sent to landfill."