Brief
Our brief was three-fold. Firstly, to provide support for the planning process for a new Anaerobic Digester at Crows Hall Farm, Attleborough; secondly, to apply for an Environmental Permit for the AD plant; and thirdly to implement a management system for the operation of the plant.
SS Agripower Ltd
SS Agripower Ltd is a renewable energy business utilising agricultural products and co-products to generate methane for conversion to energy through a gas turbine. Located adjacent to a poultry unit and surrounded by agricultural land it was ideally placed to supply energy into the National Grid.
The Challenge
The first challenge was to address the requirements of both the Local Planning Authority and the Environment Agency with regards to achieving planning permission. The second challenge was to successfully apply for and implement a Standard Rules Environmental Permit for the operation of an AD Plant.
The third challenge was to implement a management system for an operation that had no experience of the requirements or discipline necessary to successfully operate an EMS.
The Solution
The first step was to establish that an Environmental Impact Assessment would not be required. This required the evidence of a number of different surveys and reports including:
- Noise and Vibration
- Traffic
- Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment
- Phase 1 Habitat
- Bat & Reptile Assessments
These were all co-ordinated to allow an Environmental Summary Report to be prepared that not only demonstrated that an Environmental Statement was not necessary but allowed the planning consultant to demonstrate that all planning requirements had been met.
Using the collected data and evidence, we successfully applied for an environmental permit, whilst also providing environmental management oversight of the build phase of the project. This meant that when problems arose during the construction, we were on hand to provide advice and support that (eventually) saw the project completed and begin to generate energy.
However, it was also apparent that not all the requirements of the permit were being fulfilled so Kit and Kathryn both completed their Level 4 VRQ Waste & Resource Management qualifications to provide Technical Competence for the AD plant.
The business was later sold and continues to operate on the outskirts of Attleborough.
