Plans to expand anaerobic digestion plant on farm

Plans to expand an anaerobic digestion plant at a Lincolnshire village farm have been submitted.

Staples Brothers has proposed constructing a compressed biomethane (CBM) plant at Station Farm, Sibsey as an addition to the existing facility on site.

The original anaerobic digestion plant, built in 2011, produces biogas from grown feedstocks and bypass crops, generating clean electricity for onsite use and export to the national grid.

The latest proposal includes a secondary digestion tank, similar in size to the existing one, on the eastern side of the site.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the new digestion tank would produce and store biogas, which would then be processed to remove carbon dioxide and create biomethane.

The biomethane would be compressed into CBM to fuel the company's fleet of HGVs and farm machinery, replacing fossil-fuel diesel.

According to the plans submitted to Lincolnshire County Council, Station Farm serves as one of several "farming hubs" for the company.

The site includes agricultural produce stores, machinery storage, workshops, lagoons, equipment, and plant infrastructure.

In 2023, planning permission was granted for an extension to the plant to include a coldstore.

However, due to a change in technology provider and the need for additional gas storage, the company has now submitted an updated application for biomethane production and increased storage capacity.

Staple Brothers wrote: "A new digestion tank will provide additional storage to act as a buffer stock, and a concrete wall and apron at the southern end of the application site will be used as a general storage area.

"The company's HGVs and farm vehicles will refuel with the CBM and this is shown on the submitted drawings."

This will replace the current refuelling of the same vehicles on and off site with diesel and petrol.

"Unlike liquified natural gas, CBM is produced from a completely renewable source in that it is does not involve the use of fossil fuels."

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