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Beer ought not to be wasted and thanks to a joint venture between Adnams Bio Energy Limited and British Gas, even the waste associated with beer production will be put to good use. The two companies have announced the completion of the construction phase of an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, which will be the first in the UK to use brewery and local food waste to produce renewable gas (called biomethane) for injection into the national gas grid as well as providing gas for use as a vehicle fuel.

The plant will generate up to 4.8 million kilowatt-hours per year – that’s enough to heat 235 family homes for a year or run an average family car for 6.4 million kilometers. By 2020, it could account for 15 percent of domestic gas consumption in the UK.

In the future the facility will produce enough renewable gas to power the Adnams brewery and run its fleet of lorries, while still leaving up to 60 percent of the output for injection into the National Grid.

The initiative is set to decrease the carbon levels currently in the gas grid by delivering renewable heat to households through the existing gas network and central heating boilers. The use of waste from landfills also means methane pollution will be cut.

British Gas managing director of communities and new energy Gearóid Lane says the project is a good example of how local communities can help in the movement towards a low carbon energy future.

"Using waste that would otherwise end up in landfill to produce renewable gas is mutually beneficial for the environment and homes and businesses," he says.

The plant works specifically by utilising three digesters. The digesters are sealed vessels in which naturally occurring bacteria act without oxygen to break down up to 12,500 tonnes of organic waste each year. The result is the production of biomethane as well as a liquid organic fertiliser.

“For a number of years now, Adnams has been investing in ways to reduce our impact on the environment,” says Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams. “The reality of being able to convert our own brewing waste and local food waste to power our brewery and vehicles, as well as the wider community is very exciting.”

Working alongside National Grid, the renewable gas will be making its way into the gas grid as early as the end of the UK summer.

The project received funding from RBS in Cambridge as well as grants from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. 

And now, here’s a couple of other beer and energy related stats for you to digest:

• The average home uses 56 kWh/day gas, which requires the waste from brewing approximately 600 pints of beer
• 28 million pints of beer a day are consumed across the UK. If all of the associated waste was used to produce biomethane, it would produce enough renewable gas to heat 47,000 homes.