Commercial arm seals biomethane agreement with Yorkshire Water

Date:
19 Jul 2023

Our non-regulated business has signed 15-year agreements worth £20 million with Yorkshire Water to design, develop and operate biomethane gas-to-grid plants at two of its wastewater treatment facilities.

SGN Commercial Services’ partnership will see sewage treatment process waste converted to biomethane at Yorkshire Water’s Knostrop and Blackburn Meadows sites. The biomethane generated will be injected into the local gas network to help sustainably power vehicles, homes and industry.

The UK wastewater sector has the potential to generate enough biogas to heat over 360,000 homes each year through injection into the UK gas grid, helping to green the gas distribution network, reducing carbon emissions and contributing towards meeting UK Government net zero targets.

Approximately 138GWh of biomethane could be produced annually at these sites alone once operational in 2025. That’s enough to heat 10,000 local properties with renewable energy!

These sites become the eleventh and twelfth biomethane plants under our management.

Our Business Development Director Marcus Hunt said: “SGN is committed to delivering a greener gas grid and continuing to be at the forefront of providing heat to UK homes and businesses.

“We’re delighted to announce this partnership with Yorkshire Water – it adds to our ambition to increase biomethane injection into the gas network to provide local customers with green gas and support decarbonisation plans.”

Tom Hall, Head of Bioresources at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re excited to be working alongside SGN Commercial Services and Centrica Energy Trading to make best use of the biogas Yorkshire Water produces through sewage treatment.

“We already benefit from biogas-fuelled renewable energy generation, but this project demonstrates our commitment to using markets to improve our operational efficiency, reduce customer bills and facilitate carbon emissions reductions in the wider economy.”