At Greendale, we have our own anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, which generates clean, renewable energy for the Business Park and it’s tenants. The AD plant runs on a special mix of organic waste materials from our farm, AKA cow poo – the perfect renewable energy source! Learn how we turn poo into power by visiting our new interactive website – www.poweredbycowpoo.com

The AD plant is an important link between farm waste management and sustainable energy production here at Greendale. We collect manure and soiled bedding from our cattle, and grow crops specifically for use in the AD plant (typically maize, rye or other grasses). Dung from our cattle provides an ongoing source of organic waste, and we’re able to harvest and store rainwater run-off from the roofs of our farm buildings, which means we can ‘feed’ the AD plant with a steady supply of liquidised organic matter.  This in turn means the AD plant can be relied on to produce a consistent supply of biogas and therefore electricity for the Business Park and its tenants.

Completing the loop, we re-use the byproduct (digestate) from the AD plant. Some of it is used to feed the AD plant again, and some of it is spread on the fields as nutrient-packed organic fertiliser (approved by the Organic Farmers & Growers Association) to support the crops we grow for our cattle.

AD benefits Greendale directly by helping us to manage farm waste while generating renewable energy for us to use on the Business Park; it also has wider benefits, as excess energy output is sold to the National Grid, helping to take us all another step away from the use of fossil fuels. In addition, the methane gas that would naturally have been produced by the breakdown of unused cattle dung is instead contained in the AD plant and used as biogas, keeping it out of the environment.