Owners of Del Monte in Wisbech hope to supply national gas grid with new anaerobic digestion plant if plans are approved

A fruit factory in Wisbech has set out plans to build a new anaerobic digestion plant to use old fruit to create gas for the national grid.

The owners of the Del Monte food processing plant on Weasenham Lane have submitted an application to Fenland District Council asking for permission to build the new plant.

The company said the facility would produce biomethane that could be injected directly into the National Gas Grid, and CO2 to be used in the food and drinks industry.

The new plant is proposed to be built on an undeveloped part of the factory site.

It would include various plant equipment and buildings needed for the anaerobic digestion process, including a digester, which would be a concrete tank measuring 100.9m by 26m and covered by a 6m dome.

In the plans, it explained that the plant would use locally sourced straw and fruit residue from the factory, which said is currently “exported a substantial distance from the site to produce biomethane”.

The plant would require 48,000 tonnes of feedstock a year, including 28,000 tonnes of fruit residue from the factory, 20,000 tonnes of straw, and 15,000 tonnes of water.

The plans said the anaerobic digestion plant would produce 78GWH of gas per year.

The company added that the anaerobic digestion process would operate 24/7, but that the actual work on site would be “largely confined to the working week”.

The plans said: “The proposal is for the sustainable generation of biomethane and CO2 produced from grown agricultural feedstocks and existing fruit residue, which is generated from the adjacent food factory.

“There will be no detrimental impacts created by the proposal on any acknowledged sensitive receptors, and the reports that accompany the application demonstrate the acceptability of the proposal in the chosen location.

“The proposal will assist in reaching the government’s stated targets on the generation of renewable energy and will also result in a reduced reliance on fossil fuel derived inorganic fertiliser.

“The application complies with local and national policy and guidance and is acceptable in all other respects.”

Some initial concerns about the project have been raised by Cambridgeshire County Council in its role as the lead local flood authority.

The county council said: “At present, we object to the grant of planning permission for the following reasons.

“There is no proposed outfall for the surface water lagoon other than when water is extracted for use in the anaerobic digestion plant.

“Having no outfall would be a concern if the plant were ever to malfunction and when the site is decommissioned.

“The hydraulic calculations provided would only be correct when the lagoon is empty, hence the need for an outfall.”