Innovation award for Chesterfield BioGas - judges recognise the company’s role in advancing knowledge and awareness of biomethane in the UK Industry

At the inaugural UK AD & Biogas Industry Awards, upgrading plant suppliers Chesterfield BioGas Ltd (CBG) received the trophy for 'Innovation in Biomethane' for its entry on gas-to-grid projects.

The presentation took place at a dinner held at the National Exhibition Centre on 4 July, during the 'UK AD & Biogas Exhibition'- one of the largest UK events for this sector of the renewable energy industry.

The submission by CBG majored on its role in supplying the upgrading plant for the project which saw the first injection of naturally produced and upgraded biomethane into the national gas grid in October 2010. That system at the Didcot wastewater treatment site of Thames Water has subsequently provided much of the critical information that has helped the gas industry develop new regulations and specifications. These help utilise biomethane commercially, with new designs of lower-cost monitoring equipment just one of the benefits. Without this first project reaching fruition, the industry would have had much less information to study and act upon.

The Didcot upgrader employs Greenlane water-scrubbing technology proven in over 60 operational plants around the world. This 'closed loop' production process for biomethane is environmentally sustainable. From this project, the enthusiasm for injection of biomethane into the gas grid across the UK has now taken hold, with a number of new projects going forward. These include Chesterfield's second project in Stockport which will be taking the feedstock of food waste and producing biogas in a similar, but somewhat larger, upgrading unit.

These are the industry's first annual awards and were organised by 'letsrecycle' on behalf of Anaerobic Digestion & Biogas Association (ADBA). Their aim is to showcase all aspects of the industry and reward the 'best of the best' in their class, raising the profile and commercial benefits of the sector in the process.

In introducing the awards, environmental campaigner Charles Secrett said that the AD and biogas sector had a huge opportunity to realign the UK's attitude to energy from waste, and that innovation is a vital ingredient of that process as demand gathers momentum.