Energy From Waste

Unless the waste stream is entirely biological, waste cannot be considered to be purely renewable, but the use of waste to energy technology can help with waste management and the provision of sustainable energy.

Landfill gas schemes harvest methane from landfill sites whilst a number of processes, including gasification and pyrolysis, can convert waste into electricity. The most efficient systems also utilise the heat from the process.

On the Island, a gasification plant on Forest Road uses 30,000 tonnes of household waste to generate 2.3 MW of electricity. The plant consumes 500 kW of electricity on site so the net production is 1.8 MW.

The Isle of Wight Council has recently commissioned a report looking at the potential for an Anaerobic Digestion plant to treat putrescible waste. View the anaerobic digestion report (PDF, 188KB, 23 pages).