It’s one of the UK’s favourite dishes and soon your favourite chicken tikka masala could be helping to provide heat to homes across Britain.
A groundbreaking venture between British Gas, the UK’s leading energy provider, and the Bio Group will see the construction of a £5million plant that will be capable of processing food waste from takeaways and curry restaurants, as well as hotels and businesses.
It may sound like a lot of hot air but the plant in Stockport, Greater Manchester, will be able to process around 25,000 tonnes of food waste every year, helping to produce enough gas to supply more than 1,400 homes.
Once the leftover scraps have been heated after being slopped into large containers, natural bacteria will then break down the food, creating biomethane, which is also known as renewable gas. Very similar to the natural gas we use in our homes for cooking and central heating, once cleaned the biomethane will be fed into the national grid.
“This project shows how recycling waste that would otherwise go to landfill is not only good for the environment but can also play a vital role in meeting people’s everyday energy needs,” said managing director of new markets at British Gas, Gearóid Lane.
The Stockport plant will be the first purpose-built project in the country to benefit from the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.
