Britcon scoops contract for major anaerobic digestion plant extension

BUILDING and civil engineering contractor Britcon has secured a £1.85m contract to extend an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in South Yorkshire for food waste recycler ReFood.

The new extension will double the size of the plant in Doncaster making it the largest food waste anaerobic digestion plant in the UK to date.

The facility, which already employs 35 people, will create a further 30 new jobs across admin, operations and maintenance.

In December 2013 ReFood secured planning consent to accept 160,000 tonnes of food waste at Doncaster that would otherwise go to landfill.

The plant will generate electricity through combined heat and power (CHP) and will have a total capacity of up to 5MWh, which will be fed into the national grid. A nutrient rich liquid fertiliser will also be produced by the AD process and will be used by farmers in the local area to grow new crops.

Britcon secured the role following successful completion of the initial £6m build programme for the ReFood AD plant in 2011. It also played a lead role in delivering ReFood’s second £20m AD plant in Widnes in 2013 which is due for completion this month.

Paul Morris, operations director at ReFood, said: “We selected Britcon as principal contractor for our first UK plant in 2011 and the partnership has proved extremely successful. The Britcon team is very skilled in providing the resources needed for anaerobic digestion construction and has been able to deliver a complete project solution from managing complex earthworks through to building highly specialist structures compliant with our sustainability agenda. Britcon is now a valued partner working with us across a number of UK projects.”

Work has started on site and the contract is expected to be completed for handover in just six months.

John Whitmore, commercial director at Britcon, said: “Through our work with ReFood we have developed an intense process of value engineering which ensures best value throughout all elements and stages of the project. It requires a complex arrangement of a highly experience team throughout procurement, delivery and post management. We have built a strong and trusting relationship with ReFood across the UK and are delighted to be considered a valued partner as it seeks to expand existing operations.”