Willowglen Renewables is part of the Greendale Group, which has a long-standing family tradition of farming and working the land here in East Devon. This means we have a deep respect for (and a vested interest in protecting) our local landscape, but we also recognise the need to address the pressing energy, climate and pollution issues currently affecting the global environment.

Willowglen’s AD plant creates a reliable renewable energy source which supplements Greendale Group’s solar array. Initially, the AD plant relied on specially-grown crops for up to 90% of its feedstock material, which meant using up to 45 tonnes of maize sileage every day. Knowing we could do better, Willowglen’s Director, Tom, undertook a series of research visits to other AD plants in the UK and Europe; as a result, he realised that we in fact had a much less wasteful and more readily available supply of organic material to hand, in the form of cattle dung sourced from Greendale’s farming enterprise. Recognising the need for a new feedstock preparation system to make better use of this valuable resource, Tom sourced and installed a specially-designed system in 2024.

Today, Willowglen uses 50% cattle-dung in its feedstock, with maize sileage use down to 18 tonnes per day. For us, this is a win-win; we manage our farm waste responsibly by using it to power the AD plant, and in return we get clean energy, plus excellent organic fertiliser, meaning we no longer need to rely on the fossil-fuel derived alternatives.