It's fantastic to see more home-grown green gas helping to meet the energy needs of local communities- Cadent director.
A new biomethane plant in Northamptonshire has begun supplying renewable gas into Cadent's network, marking another important step in the rapid growth of the UK's biomethane sector.
The Wormslade facility developed by VIDA bioenergy, has successfully started injecting biomethane into the gas grid, becoming the latest renewable gas project to connect to Cadent's network.
The site, which is near Market Harborough, is designed to process around 46,000 tonnes of feedstock each year and is expected to produce approximately 68GWh of biomethane annually. This is enough energy to heat more than 5,000 homes.
The connection is the 17th biomethane plant on Cadent's East Midlands Network and the 46th across Cadent's wider UK area of operations.
This development is another signal of the growing investor confidence and market interest across the UK biomethane sector, as developers continue to bring forward new renewable gas projects.
Earlier this year, Cadent announced that 38 applications to build new or expanded biomethane plants had been submitted during the first assessment window under its new cost-sharing and clustering model, one of the strongest indications yet of the sector's growth potential.
Cadent currently has enough connected biomethane capacity to deliver around 4TWh (terawatt hours) of renewable gas annually and is working towards increasing this to 20TWh by 2035.
Richard Sansom, Director of Cadent's East Midlands Network, said: "The successful connection of Wormslade is another positive signal for a sector that is continuing to grow at pace.
"Across the UK we are seeing strong interest from developers, investors and the wider market in biomethane. Projects such as this demonstrate that renewable gas is not a future concept, it is being delivered today and making a meaningful contribution to decarbonisation, energy security and rural economies.
"Cadent has set out an ambition to increase biomethane capacity on our networks from around 4TWh today to 20TWh by 2035. Every new connection helps us move closer to that goal, and Wormslade is another important milestone on that journey.
It's fantastic to see more home-grown green gas helping to meet the energy needs of local communities and I congratulate VIDA bioenergy on reaching this significant achievement.
Alongside renewable gas production, Wormslade will generate around 70,000 tonnes of digestate each year, providing a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser for agriculture and supporting circular farming practices.
Lars Boetje, CEO of VIDA bioenergy, said: Wormslade demonstrates our commitment to delivering sustainable energy solutions that create value for local communities and support the UK's decarbonisation ambitions. The successful injection of biomethane into the UK gas grid is a defining milestone for the Wormslade project and an important achievement for VIDA bioenergy. It allows us to begin ramping up production towards full capacity over the coming months.
Biomethane is produced at Wormslade by agricultural residues being broken down naturally in anaerobic digesters. The renewable gas is injected directly into the existing gas network and used by homes and businesses without requiring changes to appliances or infrastructure.
Cadent believes biomethane will play a significant role in the UK's future energy mix, helping to reduce carbon emissions while making use of existing energy infrastructure. Learn more about this at https://cadentgas.com/our-services/biomethane
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