ENER-G turns greenhouse gas into energy

A RENEWABLE energy specialist based in Salford is converting environmentally damaging methane gas from a Lancashire landfill site into renewable electricity to power 700 homes.

ENER-G has been appointed by Quercia to provide carbon-cutting biogas generation technology at Clayton Hall Landfill Site, near Chorley.

The company has manufactured equipment which captures methane gas produced from the landfilled waste and converts it into clean electricity that is being fed into the National Grid.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.

The new installation will cut annual carbon emissions by the equivalent of around 30,000 tonnes – equivalent to the environmental benefit of three million trees.

Hugh Richmond, managing director of ENER-G Natural Power, said: “Quercia will effectively be turning a liability into an asset. 

“The project is funded entirely by ENER-G and we will pay royalties to Quercia, which avoids major capital expenditure.

“We are also responsible for maintaining the generator.”

The level of methane extracted will vary over the 15-year lifespan of the project, so ENER-G is operating a ‘hire fleet’ approach, which means that a larger generator can be switched for a smaller one as demand fluctuates.

Quercia is the sister company of Blackburn-based Neales Waste Management.

Howard Rushton, operations director for Neales Waste Management and Quercia, said: ‘We are committed to sourcing safe and environmentally friendly power alternatives and to continually reduce the energy used on site. We decided after much research in this subject to partner with the market leaders in this field of technology.

“ENER-G’s ground-breaking scheme not only provides us with green energy, but allows Quercia to play its part in reducing the local environment’s carbon footprint, while also addressing global warming and climate change.”