Granville Eco Park keeps NI warm thanks to uneaten mince pies, turkey bones, parsnip and potato peelings

Northern Ireland households are being kept warm by a novel source of energy – unwanted and leftover festive food waste.

The Granville Eco Park in Dungannon, a part of the Bio Capital Group, feeds green electricity directly into the local grid to provide heat and power to homes and businesses. It also supplies sustainable biomethane Northern Ireland food producers to create their own renewable electricity and fuels its own fleet of heavy goods vehicles and vans.

The plant’s feedstock includes food waste collected via local councils and from food producers including seasonal items such as uneaten mince pies, turkey bones, parsnip and potato peelings. The biomatter is fed into giant anaerobic digestion (AD) silos where it is broken down in an oxygen-free atmosphere to produce a high performing, low carbon biogas.

The plant’s owners, Bio Capital, claim the plant has the capacity to produce enough energy to power up to 13,000 local homes every year.

Annually, the Dungannon plant can process up to 90,000 tonnes of food waste and has the capacity to generate 42 GWh of electricity for the national grid.

A further benefit of Granville’s AD process is the bio-fertiliser that is a by-product, which can be used by local farmers to improve soil health and significantly increase yields - thereby preparing the land for next year’s brussels sprouts and potatoes. As such, the plant is a model for the circular economy – coupling agriculture with recycling and decentralised green energy production.

The UK produces around 9.5m tonnes of food waste each year. Bio Capital is actively looking to partner with food producers, local councils and large farms to transform food waste, garden waste and agricultural crop residues into renewable energy.

Peter Sharpe, CEO of Bio Capital, said: “Biogas is an increasingly important part of the energy mix in the UK as we move away from our reliance on fossil fuels. Biogas embodies the circular economic model, providing a secure, local, low carbon alternative to natural gas, reducing waste and carbon emissions and providing a high quality, organic alternative to chemical fertilisers.

"By using food waste generated in the local area, we are helping deliver greater energy independence, security and reducing need for gas imports - particularly critical in an environment of high energy prices and rising cost of living.”

Bio Capital is committed to expanding its operations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the rest of the country.