Waste fat from restaurants and fast food restaurants will be treated by a new combined heat and power plant in east London.
Fat, oil and grease that clogs up London’s sewers will also be provided by Thames Water to power the facility.
Based in Beckton, east London, the plant will be developed and run by 2OC and financed by a consortium led by iCON Infrastructure.
It will produce 130GWh a year of renewable electricity and Thames Water has agreed to buy 75GWh of this output to run Beckton sewerage works and the nearby desalination plant. The remaining power will be sold onto the national grid.
Low-grade cooking oil will be collected from food outlets and manufacturers while 30 tonnes per day of fat, oil and grease will be collected from London’s sewers.
Thames Water’s commitment to buying over £200 million of fuel over the long term has enabled the £70 million project to go ahead.
Renewable heat from the plant will also be used in the adjacent gas pressure reduction station owned by National Grid.
2OC chief executive Andrew Mercer said: “This is good for us, the environment, Thames Water and its customers. Our renewable power and heat from waste oils and fats is fully sustainable. When Thames doesn’t need our output, it will be made available to the grid meaning that power will be sourced, generated and used in London by Londoners.”
Thames Water commercial director Piers Clark added: “This project is a win-win: renewable power, hedged from the price fluctuations of the non-renewable mainstream power markets, and helping tackle the ongoing operational problem of ‘fatbergs’ in sewers.”
