Pioneering green energy specialist Farmgen’s own branded supply arm has revealed it has signed up its first major customer.
The Villa, based in Wrea Green, near Preston, Lancashire, will use carbon-neutral electricity, created by a local farm-based Anaerobic Digestion (AD) power plant.
The switch to Farmgen Energy is part of the new team at The Villa’s commitment to building links with local producers and suppliers to champion locally-sourced produce and to help minimise the restaurant’s carbon footprint.
Farmgen Energy was set up earlier this year to sell power generated from its Anaerobic Digestion plants to rural businesses and communities. It is already finalising a deal involving 2,000 farms in Cumbria.
The ambitious move followed Farmgen’s announcement of its £30 million investment to create the biggest AD ‘energy farming’ expansion programme in the UK.
The first of Farmgen’s plants is set to come on stream later this year. Work to create the £2.5 million AD plant at Carr Farm, Warton, near Preston, is underway.
It will provide the electricity for The Villa, as soon as the site is up and running. Until then Farmgen Energy will use electricity from other renewable sources.
Lancashire-based Farmgen is also set to start work shortly on a sister plant on a farm near Silloth in Cumbria, as part of its national roll out of ‘energy farming’. The new AD plants will all use crops from fields surrounding the farms, where they are based, to create ‘biogas’, which is then burned to generate electricity.
Farmgen says its new supply arm will end its customers’ reliance on the energy supply giants. They will also be supporting the local rural economy and will be using energy from sustainable sources.
Ed Cattigan, chief operating officer of Farmgen, said: “The deal we have signed with The Villa marks a major milestone for our fast-growing company and indicates the appetite that exists for locally-produced ‘green energy’.
“This really is what our AD operations are all about, providing locally-produced power, created by local crops, to a local business that has been rescued by a farming family and is providing valuable rural jobs.”
He added: “Our message to the rural community is that we are converting farm produce into energy that they can use.
“Our customers are supporting local energy generation and the farming sector by buying our energy, which is produced from sustainable local sources.”
The Villa, which was formerly owned by Mercury Inns, who went into administration last year, has been sold for an undisclosed sum with planning permission for extended function facilities.
Following the sale Stewart McIntosh, general manager at The Villa, is now building a solid team to move the business forward and put if firmly back on the map. Jobs have been secured and will increase as plans for the hotel are unfolded.
He said: “We are delighted to have signed this deal with Farmgen Energy. It is very important to us that The Villa’s operation is as environmentally-friendly as it can possibly be.
“When the new team took over the hotel we spoke of our real commitment to working with local suppliers and this agreement highlights that and also our determination to support Lancashire’s producers and the rural economy.”
The Villa, a much-loved local landmark, is a 25-bedroom hotel, which started life as a 19th-century gentleman's residence. The new owners have announced plans to develop the business and also increase its role as a popular wedding venue.
Farmgen is currently spearheading a farm-based renewable energy revolution, with planning applications being prepared for more plants in Lancashire, Cumbria and Staffordshire, as well as other sites which are already being lined up across the UK.
Alexa, London around 1 year, 7 months ago