The Twinwoods model
BIOGEN Twinwoods was conceived back in 2003 when sister company Bedfordia Farms was considering a significant investment in a state-of-the-art pig finishing unit at Twinwoods.
The proposed unit, which today houses 4,800 pigs growing to be ready for market (from 35-105kgs), presented an ideal opportunity to develop a first commercial AD plant nearby.
BIOGEN undertook the feasibility study and all the stages of design, planning, environmental licensing and construction.
We came up with a design that integrates the finishing unit with the AD plant, connecting the two with an underground pipeline feeding the pig slurry from the finishing unit to the biogas plant. We also recognised that the AD plant could provide a solution to food chain waste and this was built into the design.
In 2006, the 42,000 tonne capacity plant was ready, and BIOGEN took on responsibility for running the plant operationally and commercially.
Food chain waste is mixed with the animal slurry and fuels the digestion process, producing biogas which in turn is used to power a CHP unit. The heat generated is used as part of the process while the electricity generated which is sold back to the National Grid is enough to power roughly 1000 homes.
The commercial benefits for Bedfordia Farms have been clearly established. As well as the better management of slurry from the livestock unit, they are using the fertiliser on their arable land. The bio-fertiliser is used as a high grade soil conditioner achieving better results than traditional fossil fuel-based fertilisers. The bio-fertiliser is more readily available to the crop and it also provides significant cost savings as there is no longer a need to purchase fossil fuel derived fertilisers. As a result, soil management and quality have improved and slurry is no longer an issue.
