Energy Now Directory - Biogas Digestate Storage

8BIOGAS DIGESTATE STORAGE

Jones McGirr & Co. Limited
Michael McGirr
02882 897744
jonesmcgirr1@btinternet.com
www.jonesmcgirr.com

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Solar energy harnesses the natural energy radiated by the sun to produce either electricity or heat. This energy can be used in any number of applications, including Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels which use a combination of special cells to turn sunlight into electricity.
Solar Thermal- Heat from the sun is used to heat water through glass panels which are installed on roofs, known as solar collectors which capture heat from the sun (solar thermal energy) as opposed to light.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a natural process which converts organic matter such as household food and garden waste, farm slurry, waste from food processing plants and supermarkets, into energy. The main products resulting from anaerobic digestion are biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide), which is very similar to natural gas, and digestate, a low level fertilizer. The biogas can be used to generate electricity, gas or heat, or compressed for use as a biofuel. The fertilizer is rich in nitrates and phosphates. The water industry has been using anaerobic digestion to convert effluent into energy and fertilizer for many years.

Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. In the context of biomass for energy this is often used to mean plant based material, but biomass can equally apply to both animal and vegetable derived material.
There are a number of technological options available to make use of the different biomass types as a renewable energy source. Conversion technologies may release the energy directly, in the form of heat or electricity, or may convert it to another form, such as liquid biofuel or combustible biogas. While for some classes of biomass resource there may be a number of usage options, for others there may only one appropriate technology.

BWind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or to generate electricity.
These turbines can be erected either in a single installation on farms or as a cluster, also known as wind-farms, on land and/or at sea.

Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. These include;
- Bioethanol which is derived from a wide variety of agricultural produce, including forest residue, or energy crops such as Miscanthus, sugar cane, sugar beet, and grain.
- Biodiesel is a renewable diesel fuel that can be derived from algae, vegetable oils (soy beans, sunflowers, peanuts, rapeseed, palm oil, jatropha etc.) and even used as restaurant cooking oil.

The generation of electricity using water is the oldest form of renewable energy. Hydropower, or hydro-electricity, is a clean energy technology that uses moving water to produce electricity. In a hydroelectric system, water flows through a hydraulic turbine that spins and in turn rotates adjacent generators to transform the rotational energy into electricity. This electricity can then be used to power a farm or house or (if a grid connection exists) can be sold to the National Grid.

Ground source heat pumps make use of renewable energy stored in the ground and are suitable for a wide variety of building types, including farms and offices.
They can be installed in most of the UK, using a borehole or shallow trenches or by extracting heat from a pond or lake. Heat collecting pipes in a closed loop and containing water (with a little antifreeze) are used to extract this stored energy, which can then be used to provide space heating and domestic hot water. In some applications, the pump can be reversed in summer to provide an element of cooling.

From accountancy to planning and independent consultants to solicitors, there are a number of professional service suppliers on hand to assist you in deciding upon the most suitable renewable energy scheme(s). It is very important to understand all of the pros and cons of a scheme prior to making a decision.