Multi-million-pound scheme to boost power regeneration revealed

A £170m scheme in Blackburn aims to boost United Utilities own renewable energy production.

Plans are due to be submitted in the coming weeks for the development of a new Advanced Anaerobic Digestion (AAD) facility at its wastewater treatment works in Blackburn which will help the company increase the amount of renewable energy it generates.

It forms part of its drive to cut down its operational carbon emissions with an ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The facility will be upgraded to have more efficient technologies including thermal hydrolysis, advanced anaerobic digestion and energy recovery. These processes are designed to increase production of renewable biogas by around 20% when compared to traditional anaerobic digestion, which is currently used at the site.

Once operational, the site is projected to produce around 127,000 MWh of biogas renewable energy per year.  This will be used to produce green electricity for on-site use and to export into the grid.   

United Utilities is already successfully using the same technology at its largest wastewater treatment facility at Davyhulme in Manchester where it is generating green electricity and biomethane.

Tom Lissett, United Utilities Bioresources and Green Energy Director explained: “The facility at Blackburn will allow us to increase our renewable energy production and is an important step forward on our journey to Net Zero. This approach has already been successful at Davyhulme, and we are looking forward to extending it further.

“We will use some of the power to supply our own facilities, with a small proportion exported into the grid.

“The scheme is designed to deliver benefits now and enable us to deliver future innovations to increase biogas production and capture CO2 when new technologies become more readily available.

“We have already delivered a first‑of‑its‑kind pilot project at Davyhulme, using biogas from bioresources to produce clean hydrogen and graphene at Davyhulme. This technology is in its infancy, but it is exactly the kind of idea that we will be exploring further.”

Blackburn Wastewater Treatment Works treats around 168 million litres of wastewater each year, with outdated structures now being removed to prepare the site for the next phase of the upgrade.

Rebecca Warren, Regional Delivery Manager at United Utilities, said: “At Blackburn, we’re upgrading the existing site to improve performance, increase resilience and generate more renewable energy from wastewater. We’ll continue to operate the works throughout, with a focus on keeping disruption to a minimum for the local community.”  

Across the North West it is delivering its largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in the North West for a century.  The company is spending more than £13bn to protect and enhance over 500km of rivers, lakes and bathing waters whilst safeguarding drinking water supplies for millions of customers.