Meet Willowglen
Creating renewable energy from farm waste
Willowglen Renewables, part of the Greendale Group, operates an Anaerobic Digestion Plant in East Devon, that turns farm waste into reliable and clean renewable energy. Our AD Plant harnesses naturally occurring processes to turn organic waste materials collected from our farm and fields into renewable energy. We use a innovative mixture to feed our AD plant, consisting predominantly of cattle dung. This unique input mix, halves the crop usage whilst perfecting the balance of nutrients for maximum output. The AD process turns this mixture into gas (known as biogas), a highly versatile renewable fuel which produces electricity for ourselves and our sister companies Greendale Business Park and Greendale Farm Shop.
Meet Tom Chanter
Director, Willowglen Renewables
Farm Manager, Greendale Group
Tom joined Greendale as Farm Manager in 2017, following four years’ experience as a livestock nutritionist based in the South West of England. Since then, he has also taken on a director role at Willowglen Renewables, where he is driving Greendale Group’s sustainable energy ambitions.
Tom oversees both the cattle finishing and the renewable energy enterprises at Greendale, feeding one into the other to create a mutually beneficial ecosystem.
“The farm is probably generating about 45 to 50 tonnes of dung a day - that takes a bit of handling. We don’t necessarily want it all on our land because the nutrient loading can be too heavy. When I took on the AD business, we knew that the AD plant had a ridiculous requirement for crops.”
After extensive research, and drawing on his nutritionist experience, Tom found that 1 tonne of cattle manure in gas value is worth about 0.6 tonnes of maize. With maize at £50 a tonne and dung a couple of pounds a tonne, it seemed a no-brainer to Tom to capitalise on this fantastic feedstock.
Tom worked with German engineering firm Vogelsang to convert the plant to this new input mix, halving the crop usage (and removing the need for monocrop farming) whilst perfecting the balance of nutrients for maximum gas output.
“Futureproofing of any business has got to be front and centre. I think Greendale has shown great acumen in really pushing this renewable energy ethos, and it’s going to pay dividends in the long run. I hope that Greendale becomes more and more attractive to tenants who want to be on the business park and customers at the farm shop, knowing that we’re doing something really good, and really different.”