UK waste-to-energy firm expands Baltic presence

As politicians continue to debate whether the UK will become a net importer or exporter of low-carbon technologies, one UK startup is already demonstrating the benefits of exporting innovative clean technologies.

Manchester-based power company ENER-G announced this week that it has won a contract to construct its third waste-to-energy power plant in Lithuania, providing the country with a total of 5.5MW of low-carbon energy.

The latest 1MW project will generate power from a landfill site in Alytaus, with some energy production expected before the end of the year. It follows similar 3MW and 1.5MW landfill gas-generation projects that are expected to be completed later this year in Vilnius and Klaipeda respectively.

ENER-G Natural Power managing director Hugh Richmond said the company had invested £5m in the projects and was keen to expand its presence in the region.

"This is an auspicious start to our activities in Lithuania, which hopefully will extend to other offerings from the ENER-G group, not just in Lithuania but also the other Baltic countries of Latvia and Estonia," he said.

Landfill gas typically contains 50 per cent methane and 50 per cent carbon dioxide, resulting in global warming potential that is 21 times greater than carbon dioxide alone, according to ENER-G.

The company's technology captures the methane from landfill sites and uses it to power internal spark-ignition engines that generate electricity for the local grid.

ENER-G installs the technology for free and then manages extraction of gas from the site, enabling authorities to sign up without any initial capital outlay.

The company is already the UK's leading independent landfill gas-generation company – producing in excess of 120MW of biogas globally.