Scottish Plants

The Project

In 2005, seven on-farm biogas plants were built in two small catchments of Saltcoats and Sandyhills in South west Scotland as part of the Scottish Government research programme into diffuse pollution of bathing waters.   The project budget totaled £2.6 million, of which Greenfinch was awarded a £1.5 million contract to design and erect the 7 full-scale biogas plants and 3 composting plants.

South West Scotland has had a mixed history of meeting the standards set by European Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC).   Farmers apply slurry to land as fertiliser; however, the large amount of rainfall in the area, together with impermeable soils and short river lengths all contribute to the risk of bacteria (faecal indicator organisms (FIO)) in the slurry being washed downstream into the bathing water, reducing water quality.