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Maize Harvest 2021 - Providing Energy for Blisworth Hill
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Maize To Energy – Powering The Blisworth Hill Business Park

Did you know that our country business park is powered using green energy by our AD plant? The Blisworth Hill Farm Anaerobic Digestion plant has just taken delivery of the new maize harvest which will be used to generate 250kW/h of electricity which will be fed directly to Blisworth Hill Business Park. The special thing is, we grew and harvested it too. Excess power, such as that produced at night time, is fed back into the national grid. As a farm and business park, we are proud to be providing our own renewable energy and would love to share a little insight into the process with you. We hope that we might inspire other businesses and farmers to look at ways to provide green energy for themselves and others.

Busy harvesting maize to fuel the anaerobic digestion plant.
Harvesting maize for The Blisworth Hill AD Plant – Autumn 2021

What is an Anaerobic Digestion Plant?

Anaerobic Digestion Plants (AD Plants) use the methane produced by bacteria (methanogens) when digesting biomass, in our case maize, as a fuel that is used in a generator to make electricity. In effect, it is a carefully controlled process, whereby plant mater is broken down using bacteria into component parts creating a gas rich in methane. The maize is grown specifically to feed this bacteria and is known as “feedstock”. The heat generated by the process is also put to good use heating the feedstock to the optimum temperature of 44 degrees which the bacteria thrive on.

Our maize provides around half of the 6000 tons of feedstock needed to provide power all year round. The maize is rolled and consolidated to remove the oxygen and covered to preserve it in an anaerobic state which can be used throughout the year. The additional 50% of the annual feedstock requirement is made from grass and whole crop.

Blisworth Hill Farm Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant
This AD plant provides 250kW/h of renewable electricity to the Blisworth Hill Business Park

What Happens to the Digested Biomass from the AD Plant?

Once the gas has been released, the end result is an odour-free product, known as digestate, that is ideal for spreading on the land as fertiliser being rich in important plant-growing elements such as potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. We use this “waste” product as fertiliser for the next round of “feedstock” to be harvested and used next year. The fact that the end product can be used in this way, along with the gas and heat from the digestion process, makes anaerobic digestion a great self-sustaining model of renewable energy production.

Feel Good About The Electricity You Use At Work

It is time to start feeling good about the electricity that you use at work, rather than guilty. It really feels great knowing that the power you use comes from a local and renewable energy source. It can also be a client-pleasing statement to be able to say that you work in a green-energy office.

If you are looking for an office to let in the Northampton and Towcester area, and care about green energy, or would like to know more about our aim to make business greener, then please send us a message or call us on 01327 811 714.