Diageo has announced plans for a pioneering bioenergy facility to be based at its site in Cameronbridge, Fife.
The facility, which will cost in the region of £65 million, will combine various sustainable technologies including anaerobic digestion and biomass conversion and is expected to provide 98 per cent of the thermal steam and 80 per cent of the electrical power requirements of the site.
The project will allow the distillery to reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by 56,000 tonnes – the equivalent of removing 44,000 family cars from the roads.
“This will be a showcase bioenergy facility which harnesses a variety of green technologies in a project of an unprecedented scale in our industry,” said managing director of Diageo Scotland Bryan Donaghey.
“It is without question the right way forward in terms of our environmental ambitions and secures the long-term sustainability of our operation at Cameronbridge, moving the site away from reliance on fossil fuels.”
Energy management company Dalkia is to be responsible for the construction and management of the facility, which is due to be completed in two years’ time subject to planning permission.