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Newark
NG24 2TQ
United Kingdom

+44 (0) 1636 705817

Barrow Green Gas is the only green gas/biomethane shipping business that ships biomethane for the producer, supplies biomethane to the gas buyer, and manages the green gas certificates to make the gas green.

Case Studies

THE UK'S 1ST ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANT TO INJECT BIOMETHANE INTO THE NATIONAL GAS NETWORK

RAINBARROW FARM AD PLANT near Poundbury in Dorset is owned and run by J V Energen LLP, a joint venture between local farmers and the Duchy of Cornwall.


THE UK'S 1ST ANAEROBIC DIGESTION PLANT TO INJECT BIOMETHANE INTO THE NATIONAL GAS NETWORK

RAINBARROW FARM AD PLANT near Poundbury in Dorset is owned and run by J V Energen LLP,

a joint venture between local farmers and the Duchy of Cornwall.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Biogas production began in March 2012, with the commissioning of the 400 kWh CHP plant, with injection to the gas grid commencing in October 2012.

Rainbarrow Farm is approximately 1.5 km from Scotia Gas Networks’ gas grid (operating at 1.9bar pressure)

A 400kWh CHP plant, manufactured by MWM was installed. The majority of the electricity is used on site, with around 100kWh exported to the grid. The waste heat is used in the digestion process. The annual raw gas production is around 7,500,000m3 with methane content of around 53%. JV Energen upgrade the gas using the DMT Carborex membrane system delivering product gas with 96% methane, typically with a CV of 39.5 MJ/m3. This results in the export of 3,500,00m3 of gas to the grid annually.

This project represents the first commercial application of biomethane to grid and has been a great success. The involvement of Scotia Gas Networks helped satisfy Ofgem and the HSE were satisfied with the project. 

Plant FaCTS & Information

  • Plant Operator: Joint venture - J V Energen LLP - between J V Farming Ltd, the Duchy of Cornwall and ABP Ltd
  • AD provider: Agraferm
  • Feedstock: 4,000 tonnes potato waste, 26,000 tonnes maize silage, 4,000 tonnes grass silage, and 7,000 tonne food waste
  • CHP and supplier: 400 kWh, MWM
  • Bio-methane gas grid injection flowrate: 400 m3/hr
  • Upgrading technology and supplier: Membrane, DMT
  • Propane storage and supplier: 10 tonnes, below ground storage, Flogas
  • Typical target CV (MJ/m3): 39.2
  • Grid Entry Unit supplier: Scotia Gas Networks
  • H2S in the raw biogas: 200 ppm (Oxygen injection system used to reduce H2S content)
  • Typical CV prior to propane addition: 98% CH4 + 1.5% CO2 + 0.2% O2 + 0.3% N2
  • Distance from gas grid: 1500 m
  • Gas Grid Pressure Tier: Medium Pressure (1.9 bar)
  • Injection commissioning date: Oct-12
  • Gas purchaser: Barrow Shipping Ltd

TRACKING AND CERTIFICATION

Barrow Shipping Ltd ship the gas and biomethane injected into the grid is tracked using the Green Gas Certification Scheme - www.greengas.org.uk

MWM 400 kWh CHP

MWM 400 kWh CHP

Scotia Gas Networks Network Entry Facilities

Scotia Gas Networks Network Entry Facilities

DMT Carborex© membrane system plant

DMT Carborex© membrane system plant

John Baldwin of Barrow Shipping Ltd presenting Green Gas Certificates to Andrew Phillips of the Duchy of Cornwall

John Baldwin of Barrow Shipping Ltd presenting Green Gas Certificates to Andrew Phillips of the Duchy of Cornwall


Cannington Bio Energy

A family company in the South West is pioneering ‘green energy’ technology; taking waste from homes and business and turning it into green gas.


Cannington Bio Energy, the South West’s leading waste management specialist, is using its own waste and waste collected from other local companies to make biomethane, which is also known as green gas.  The gas is then injected into the gas grid and is used by homes and business, just like normal gas.


Cannington Bio Energy is a subsidiary of Cannington Enterprises.  The company is based at Swang Farm, near Bridgwater in Somerset.  The farm has been in the Roe family since 1914 and the current directors, Tim and Mike Roe, have been responsible for developing the company into the success it is today.


During the 80s and 90s the family farm was growing, packing and processing potatoes which required it to set up large cold storage facilities.  In 1997, the potato business was discontinued and the cold storage was then used to store locally produced cheese.  The cold storage business subsequently expanded and the company began to work with Gerber Juice, (now Refresco) Europe’s largest juice manufacturer.  The Cannington Cold Store business is now used by other major companies such as Yeo Valley Organic and GlaxoSmithKline.


The success of the cold storage business presented challenges. Storing foodstuffs in climate controlled conditions, with temperatures as low as -25C, uses a great deal of energy which was a major cost to the business. Finding a way to manage energy costs led to looking into a renewable energy solution.  


The directors discovered that waste food, such as yogurt and juice generated by its cold store customers, could be used to create energy using anaerobic digestion (AD).  Food waste, when disposed of to landfill, generates large quantities of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. If food waste is treated in anaerobic digesters the methane is captured while the food waste creates renewable energy, so the process is doubly effective in protecting the environment.  Cannington’s first anaerobic digester was built in 2009.  At this point, the biomethane plants were not connected to the gas grid and all of the gas was used on-site to produce electricity.  


In 2011 Cannington was issued with permits by Somerset County Council and the Environment Agency to treat 75,000 tonnes of food waste from food manufacturers across the West Country.  The new permit allowed them to treat waste from canteens, restaurants and food production factories.  Prior to this, most food waste was sent out of the area to various disposal facilities throughout the UK for disposal or landfill.


This expansion led to the company talking to biomethane-to-grid specialists CNG Services, about the possibility of connecting their biomethane plant to the gas grid and so supplying homes and business with green gas.  This increases the efficiency of the anaerobic digesters as more renewable energy is created if the gas is injected directly into the grid rather than being used to generate electricity. In May 2015, Cannington began injecting green gas into the grid.


This green gas is now being shipped by biomethane specialists, Barrow Green Gas, and being used in people’s homes for heating and cooking. So, people can be sure they are using green gas, biomethane is tracked using the Green Gas Certification Scheme.  


Today, Cannington Bio-Energy process a wide range of different waste including liquids, plant material and animal by-products.  In addition, the processes separates packaging from the waste, recycling as much as possible.  This waste is processed by Cannington Bio Energy and turned into green gas, an excellent example sustainability in action.


Tim Roe, Managing Director at Cannington Enterprises, said:

“Developing our energy business has not only given us a low cost source of renewable energy for our cold storage, but has grown into something much bigger.  We’re proud of our achievement and it shows it’s now possible to treat a much broader range of wastes and create larger quantities of green gas, which is reducing the amount of fossil fuels used by homes and businesses.  We are also offering the region a cost-effective and socially responsible way of disposing of their waste. So everybody wins!”

After their successful experience with anaerobic digestion and recycling, Cannington Bio-Energy now works with local authorities and businesses providing advice on how to process and treat their waste, which is a tribute to the level of expertise they have developed in this industry.


Tim Roe continues:

“We look forward to generating more renewable energy in the coming years as the demand for clean power increases both regionally and nationally.”

Tim Davis, managing director of Barrow Green Gas, commented:

“The injection of green gas into the gas grid is a relatively new development that offers the prospect of increasing volumes of waste being converted to energy.  The UK’s biomethane industry is the fastest growing in the world and there is now a new supply of green gas available for people that want to use renewable green energy.  Cannington is a great example of sustainability in practice, generating gas from waste.  This is a big win for our environment, preventing waste going to landfill while providing a source of green gas.  We hope many other organisations will see Cannington’s success and be encouraged to go down the same route.”