"Towards a Zero Carbon Community"

Grant Awarded for Anaerobic Digestion Study

Posted Monday, March 2, 2009

Sustainable Youlgrave has been awarded a grant of £20,000 by the Peak District National Park to find out whether one or more anaerobic digestion facilities can be established in the valley of the River Bradford.

The grant is from the Sustainable Development Fund and will allow us to hire consultants who specialise in developing this cutting-edge renewable energy technology. The money will go towards a full feasibility study that will take place this Spring, hopefully starting before the end of February.

Put simply, anaerobic digestion is a natural process whereby organic green wastes are broken down in a sealed vessel and the resulting gases trapped and converted into 'green' electricity. We hope to find out whether it will be economically and technically viable to establish facilities at suitable locations in the Youlgrave area. Since slurry, farmyard manure and other green wastes are likely to be high on the agenda, we are already working closely with local farmers. Consultation across the community is also planned.

"It's very encouraging that the Peak National Park has confidence in our ambitious plans and are prepared to back community-led green ventures," said John Youatt, Chairman of Sustainable Youlgrave. "Anaerobic digestion plants are common in rural Germany and elsewhere in Europe, but in Britain they’re relatively scarce. We hope to prove that renewable energy technology is not just feasible but is appropriate in a National Park setting."

In addition to the SDF grant, we are committing some of our own funds (including a Future Friendly award), as well as negotiating a significant contribution from the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) which has shown a keen interest in our proposals. Watch this space, as they say!

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