Midlothian Council has awarded Alauna Renewable Energy (ARE) full planning permission to design, build, finance and operate an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility at Milerhill, Midlothian, Resource Magazine has said.

ARE is a joint venture set up between Kelda Water Services and Scottish Water Horizons.

It was awarded the 20-year food waste contract in February by Edinburgh and Midlothian Councils, having been chosen as the preferred bidder in October 2012.

Following the awarding of the contract, ARE submitted an application for an anaerobic digestion facility which would be capable of receiving approximately 30,000 tonnes of food waste collected by the two councils each year.

-- Advertisement --

This would be treated in a composting process at the proposed site and would produce biogas, in turn used to generate power. Electricity produced by the plant would then be used to power water and drainage services provided by partner company, Scottish Water Horizons (SWH).

SWH’s existing AD plant near Cumbernauld currently processes Edinburgh’s food waste and it is thought it will be used as a 'back up' to the new service.

Now that the Council's have approved the project to continue, construction of the Milerhill facility can begin. It is expected to be completed in 2015.

Speaking of the planning decision, Tom Hall, Commercial Manager at Alauna Renewable Energy, said: "We are delighted with this news, which is another important step toward delivering a project that will make a significant contribution toward the Councils' Zero Waste ambitions.

"We have been working closely with partner organisations and the councils to develop our plans for this modern, sustainable recycling facility. We now look forward to moving onto the construction of this exciting development."

The contract for ARE forms part of the Zero Waste: Edinburgh and Midlothian Project.

(JP/CD)