Welsh Water invests £48m in green gas

WELSH Water is investing £48m in a project that will boost the amount of green energy it produces at its existing Cog Moors wastewater treatment works in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The work involves the construction of an additional treatment process, known as advanced anaerobic digestion (AAD) at the works.

The AAD facility will enable more green gas – known as bio-gas – to be recovered from the waste it treats there. The bio-gas recovered is then used to generate electricity.

The treatment works was built in the mid-1990s and helps to treat wastewater for a population of around 200,000 in the Dinas Powys, Sully, Penarth, West Cardiff and Barry areas.

The site already produces green gas through an existing anaerobic digestion plant.

The development is anticipated to start towards the end of September this year and should be operational by 2020.

Steve Earlam, Welsh Water’s capital programme delivery manager, said: “We’re very pleased to have received planning permission to improve our treatment works at Cog Moors. The investment will enable us to create more green energy there which in turn will help us to further reduce our carbon footprint and operational costs.

“The proposed advanced anaerobic digestion plant will involve the construction of a series of tanks, process equipment and buildings, broadly similar in scale to the existing structures on the site.”