Yorkshire Water Signs Agreement To Turn Biogas Into Fuel For Homes, Industry And Vehicles

Yorkshire Water has signed 15-year agreements with SGN Commercial Services and Centrica Energy Trading that will see biomethane gas to grid plants introduced at its Knostrop and Blackburn Meadows wastewater treatment works.

Biogas is produced as a by-product of Yorkshire Water’s sewage wastewater treatment processes and can be upgraded to separate methane from the other component gases. This upgraded biogas is called 'biomethane' or 'renewable natural gas'.

As part of the deal, biomethane gas to grid plants will be designed, developed and operated at the two sites. The biomethane will then be injected into the local gas network via underground pipelines and used as a renewable fuel, either in vehicles, homes or industry.

Once operational, the plants shall produce roughly 125GWh of biomethane annually, enough to heat more than 10,000 homes.

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.”

It is hoped the biomethane gas to grid plants will be operational at Knostrop and Blackburn Meadows in early 2025.

SGN’s 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.”

Kristian Gjerløv-Juel, director for renewable energy trading and optimisation at Centrica Energy Trading commented: “This agreement marks an important milestone for Centrica’s biomethane activities in the UK. Having recently expanded our capabilities to handle trading, nomination, and transportation of green gas in the UK market, we’re working to accelerate biomethane production across Europe and using our capabilities to help businesses deliver on their green procurement strategies and reduce emissions.”

About SGN Commercial Services
SGN Commercial Services is part of the SGN group, who own and operate the gas distribution networks in the south of England, across Scotland and in the west of Northern Ireland. The Group provides a wide-range of specialist and gas-related professional services, operating throughout the UK. SGN’s safety-first culture provides bespoke commercial services and green gas solutions to the Group’s clients, allowing them to better meet their business needs today and in the future.

About Centrica
Centrica is a leading international energy services and solutions provider, founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people. We serve around 10 million customers across the UK, Ireland and continental Europe through brands such as British Gas. We are focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers, enabling them to transition to a lower carbon future.

Centrica Energy Trading A/S, part of Centrica’s Energy Marketing and Trading business unit is the trading and optimisation arm of Centrica plc. We are a leading provider of energy management and optimisation services to businesses, in addition to managing commodity risk and providing wholesale market access for the Centrica Group. We have 16.5GW of capacity under contract in Europe, more than 85% of which is renewable assets.

About Yorkshire Water
We’re Yorkshire Water. The people trusted to take care of Yorkshire’s most valuable natural resource. On the surface, it sounds simple. We manage and look after the region’s water. But water is not quite like anything else. We’re not like any other business – and nowhere is quite like Yorkshire. Our work means much more than just supplying clean drinking water, taking away wastewater and looking after the region’s coast and countryside. We’re an integral part of Yorkshire life and millions of people who live and work here rely upon us, every single day.

We look after communities, protect the environment and plan ahead to look after Yorkshire’s water, today, tomorrow, always. 24/7, 365, we provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region and play a key role in the region’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. That means over 5 million customers, and the millions of people who visit Yorkshire each year rely on us, every day. 140,000 businesses also depend upon the water we supply and the wastewater we take away to provide goods and services that support the economy – not only in Yorkshire, but across the United Kingdom and beyond.