Start-up aims to have more than 40 anaerobic digestion plants generating 100MW of electricity across the UK in five years’ time

The Prince of Wales’ estate, financier Jacob Rothschild, and supermarket giant Sainsbury’s are among a number of investors to back a company looking to develop a UK network of over 40 anaerobic digestion (AD) plants.

Start-up Tamar Energy has raised £65m to build the plants, which it estimates will generate 100MW of electricity from organic waste over the next five years. The biogas produced from the process can also be injected into the gas grid.

The company has purchased waste to energy company AdGen, which already has an advanced pipeline of projects that it says will allow it it ramp up its operations at a rapid rate.

Tamar hopes to exploit what it sees as an underdeveloped market in the UK, where there are just over 200 plants producing around 170MW, around one per cent of the capacity in Germany.

Chairman Alan Lovell, former chief executive of Infinis, a UK renewable energy developer backed by private equity house Terra Firma, called the project a “game-changing investment”.

“The underdevelopment of anaerobic digestion in the UK is principally driven by a historic lack of financing for the sector,” he said. “Tamar Energy will be well capitalised by investors, with a pure focus on producing energy from organic waste, rather than as an adjunct to a waste management business.”

Sainsburys, which will reportedly invest £2m in the scheme, said it would also work with its suppliers to ensure they have access to Tamar’s new AD plants in a bid to reduce waste in its supply chain. The company has a zero food waste to landfill policy and surplus food from its stores already goes to AD or charities.

The project was hailed by Ed Davey, newly appointed Energy and Climate Change Secretary, as “crucial for keeping the lights on and emissions down in the UK in the coming decades”.

“Getting new investors to come into the clean energy market is one of my priorities,” he added. “The consortium behind Tamar is a prime example of this, combining familiar high street names with big international investors.

“Energy from waste has the potential to make a substantial contribution to our renewable energy targets and so I look forward to seeing Tamar’s plans come to fruition.”