The landmark project at Didcot, Oxfordshire, is a joint venture between Thames Water, British Gas and Scotia Gas Networks and delivers renewable heat to households through the existing gas network and central heating boilers.
Chris Huhne, Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said: “It’s not every day that a Secretary of State can announce that, for the first time ever in the UK, people can cook and heat their homes with gas generated from sewage.
"This is an historic day for the companies involved, for energy from waste technologies, and for progress to increase the amount of renewable energy in the UK. I know there are other similar projects across the country that are close to completion, so this is just the start of a new era of renewable energy.”
Sewage arrives at the Didcot works from some of Thames Water’s 14 million customers to be treated and recycled back to the environment. Sludge is then treated anaerobically in warmed-up vats, where bacteria break down biodegradable material, yielding biogas. Impurities are removed from the biomethane before it is fed into the gas grid.
According to Thames Water, the whole process - from flushing a toilet to gas being piped to people's homes - takes around 20 days.
Martin Baggs, chief executive of Thames Water, said: “What we have jointly achieved at Didcot is a sign of what is to come, which can be replicated across our network and indeed the whole country. Every sewage works in Britain is a potential source of local renewable gas waiting to be put to use.”
John Morea, chief executive of Scotia Gas Networks, added: “The gas that we are transporting from Didcot doesn’t arrive from the North Sea or abroad, but instead comes from the very homes we are delivering the gas to. That’s got to be recycling at its very best."
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