This site
The proposed site for the new biogas facility lies immediately to the north of the A505 Royston Road, approximately a mile and a half South of the village of Thriplow, and a similar distance to the South East of Fowlmere.
It covers approximately 10 hectares, including generous landscaping and biodiversity improvements.
The area around Thriplow is a major centre for cereal production. Local soil types are well suited to producing energy crops. There is existing demand for profitable break crops in sustainable rotations local to the plant.
We sign long-term agreements with local farmers which guarantee our suppliers a known income for many years to come. At a time of increasing uncertainty around farm incomes, this has proved to be very welcome at our existing sites.
The site lies at the very southern edge of the Cambridge green belt, which is designed to prevent urban sprawl filling in gaps between communities. Green belts are not designed to prevent development of any kind, only development deemed inappropriate in such a setting.
Our biogas facilities are largely agricultural in nature, taking in energy crops and producing biogas and biofertiliser.
There are numerous similar sites which have been developed on land designated as green belt across England and planning authorities have decided they are not inappropriate in such locations.
Reasons for choosing this site include:
• It is on the A505 and has very good links to the M11 and A10, meaning delivery traffic can avoid going through local communities
• It is very close to a major gas pipe.
• It is not close to main residential areas
• There is strong local interest in providing feedstock.
What is proposed here?
The site for Meridian Biogas covers around 10 hectares, which is slightly smaller than the average size of a field in the UK.
Much of the site would be used for storage of the energy crops brought onto site, and of the biofertiliser (digestate) which is a valuable byproduct of the biogas process. We would be able to store enough crops on site to keep the plant operational for six months at a time.
The conversion of crops into gas would take place in five sealed tanks. This conversion uses a process called anaerobic digestion which is a tried and tested method.
Because we are using crops and not waste products as the fuel there is no odour associated with the transportation of raw materials to the site, and very little with the production process.
Both biomethane and CO₂ are colourless and odourless, and there is very little odour associated with digestate, which is kept in fully covered and sealed storage before being transported off site.
Plans for this plant include the ability to capture the CO₂ produced on site. This would be taken away and permanently stored in geological formations.
This process is called Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage, also known as BECCS.
One of Future Biogas’ other facilities: Egmere Energy, Norfolk.
One of Future Biogas’ other facilities, Redstow Renwables, Swaffham.
Traffic management
The Meridian Biogas facility will be operational 24 hours a day throughout the year, continuously providing renewable energy for the local grid network.
But working hours for employees on the site will be limited to 7am to 7pm, with generally no vehicle movements outside these times. They may be exceptions to these hours twice a year at peak harvest times.
Access would be from the main A505 road, with improvements made to the site entrance to increase its safety, particularly for right-hand turns into the facility.
The energy crops would be brought to the site by HGVs from a radius of around 15 miles. To minimise traffic wherever possible, these HGVs would then be used to take biofertiliser and CO₂ off site.
As part of the planning application process, we will need to produce a Transport Statement which will need to be approved by the local authorities.
We have been in discussions with officers from the local highways authority, to ensure our proposals will be acceptable from a highways point of view.
Traffic management plans will be drawn up and agreed with the district council to cover both construction and day-to-day operations to ensure minimal disruption.
Carbon capture - Beyond Net Zero
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage, or BECCS, is a way of permanently locking away atmospheric CO₂.
At Meridian Biogas, CO₂ will be absorbed by the growing crops, and captured during the anaerobic digestion process. With BECCS, this CO₂ will be taken out of the atmosphere permanently, reducing the amount of harmful greenhouse gases.
The CO₂ which results from biomethane production is gas which had, until recently, been in the atmosphere and the soil all around us until it was taken up by the energy crops as they grow.
This means that even without BECCS, biomethane production releases no more CO₂ than that which the energy crops captured only a matter of months previously.
The biomethane production process concentrates CO₂ in such a way that it can be liquefied and captured, which means that it can then be taken off site and locked away.
The CO₂ byproduct created at the proposed Meridian Biogas plant would be placed into permanent geological storage for many thousands, if not millions, of years. We expect the plant would capture more than 20,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year.
This takes us beyond net zero with a process which continually removes CO₂ from the atmosphere, helping to reverse greenhouse gas emissions.
A carbon-focused approach
CO₂, carbon dioxide, is a major contributor to climate change.
The amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere has gone up with the increased use of fossil fuels in almost all aspects of our daily lives. Just as efforts are being made to decarbonise electricity with more use of solar and wind power, the use of energy crops is helping decarbonise the gas supply.
This graphic shows how the production of biomethane can actually reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, directly tackling climate change.
