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Cadent and project partners win Energy Institute (EI) Technology Award for ground-breaking BioSNG Demonstration Plant in Swindon
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Plant successfully trialled game-changing technology to make gas from household waste
- Construction of world’s first commercially operating plant under way with potential for more in the pipeline
A consortium including Cadent has scooped the Technology Award at the prestigious Energy Institute (EI) Awards.
Cadent, Britain’s largest gas distribution network and its partners beat off stiff competition from other major UK energy companies to win the honour.
Representatives from the project were handed the award at the 2017 EI Awards Dinner, an important fixture in the energy sector’s calendar. Former England Rugby star Matt Dawson MBE announced the winners at the ceremony, held at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel in Piccadilly on Thursday 9 November.
The glamorous award is the culmination of years of hard work and investment by Cadent in an idea which has its roots in the rather more mundane world of household rubbish.
Cadent supported the successful trial in Swindon, which used game-changing gasification technology to make BioSNG (bio-substitute natural gas) from household waste. The trial was judged a success which proved the commercial and technical feasibility of the new technology. Cadent has also provided £8.6m of funding to support building the world’s first commercially operating plant in the town.
David Pickering, Cadent’s BioSNG Project Manager, said: “This award is the icing on the cake for a project which has been a great success.
“We’re on the verge of a real green gas revolution here and Cadent is delighted to be associated with a technology that can make a major contribution to decarbonising both heat and heavy goods transport - sectors in which it has been extremely difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to date.”
He added: “It also reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill, and green gas fuelled vehicles cause much less pollution than diesel making them particularly suitable for inner cities.”
“With BioSNG we have a technology which could be rolled out across not only Britain but also the world - it’s just one of a number of innovative game changing technologies that we in Cadent are working to develop.”
The new commercial £27m BioSNG plant is being built by a consortium of partners made up of Advanced Plasma Power, Progressive Energy, Wales & West Utilities, CNG Services and Cadent. Backing of £11m for the plant was also awarded from Department for Transport’s Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Competition in September 2015 and over £5m is being contributed from the Network Innovation Competition, run by energy regulator Ofgem.
To read a report on the Swindon trial plant, go to http://gogreengas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/BioSNG-170223-1-Project-Close-Out-Report.pdf
To view a film about the project, go to: http://gogreengas.com/uncategorised/video-worlds-first-commercially-operating-biosng-facility/ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLlZsa34ARQ
Cadent is the new name for the company formerly known as National Grid Gas Distribution.