Mr Huhne is in charge of plans to boost renewable energy generation in the UK, to meet a 15% target in 2020. This site in Hampshire exports 25 GWh of power generated from landfill gas (LFG) per year, which is the equivalent of supplying over 5,500 homes with power on a continuous basis.
Following a recent investment of over £9 million in landfill gas generation at Blue Haze, Croft Farm near Doncaster and Albion in Leicestershire Veolia is now supplying an additional 50 GWh per year to the Distribution Network (the equivalent of 11,000 homes). The total generation from LFG across all Veolia’s landfills is 545 GWh per year - the equivalent of supplying 120,000 homes with power continuously.
Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said:
"Renewables are crucial to securing our energy supplies and reducing our carbon emissions in the decades ahead. Investment in new facilities, such as Blue Haze, is therefore vital so that we can achieve our target.”
Jean-Dominique Mallet, Chief Executive Officer for Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc, added:
“We are committed to a continuous contribution to renewable energy through our landfill gas generation and energy recovery facilities across the UK. By investing in renewable low carbon energy we are reducing our reliance on fossils fuels, increasing domestic energy security and helping protect the environment by cutting carbon emissions.”
Blue Haze landfill site is located near Ringwood in Hampshire, operating since April 2000. With a network of 122 wells to draw gas from the landfilled waste, 4 gas generation engines converted approximately 16 million cubic metres of landfill gas into electricity last year.