| Chip-maker McCain wants to extend
its investment in renewables, but may be hampered in doing so
by 'nimbyism', its Corporate Affairs Director said.
At its Whittlesey plant near Peterborough, the company is
already providing 70 per cent of one factory's emissions'
needs through renewable power. Some 60 per cent comes from
three 3MW wind turbines installed in 2007, while a further
10 per cent of power comes from an anaerobic digestion pool
which was opened last year.
The £15m pool was opened in 2008 and produces biogas from
the factory's waste water. The water passes through it over
a period of 27 days, fermenting and producing methane. The
methane is harnessed, drawn off and used to fuel a gas-powered
electrical generator.
Corporate affairs director Bill Bartlett said the company
would like to introduce the measures at its other four factories
in the UK, but has run into problems. "We're considering pools
and turbines at the other plants, but it's not as easy as
it was at the Peterborough plant which is easily isolated"
- he said. " People often don't want these things in their
back yard."
McCain
has taken a number of other environmental measures over the
past few years that have been easier to achieve. The firm
used software to reduce the journey distances of its truck
fleet by 20 per cent per year by more efficient route planning,
while sourcing all its potatoes from UK producers sited as
close to the factories as possible.
The company also invested in heat recovery systems at its
Scarborough site, which recovers waste heat from the fryers
and uses it to heat water used in the preparation process.
In addition, it operates three scaled-up pilot farms which
examine how soil erosion and pollution affects the local environment
and air quality in the Midlands Hereford area.
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