Iona partners with Wensleydale to produce energy from cheese

Iona Capital, a low-carbon sustainable fund manager, has struck a deal with the Wensleydale Creamery in the Yorkshire Dales to produce over 10,000 MWh of energy per year from cheese-making leftovers.

Utilising anaerobic digestion, Iona’s Leeming biogas plant in North Yorkshire will transform whey permeate, a by-product of the production process, into nearly a million cubic meters of green gas. That gas will be used to produce enough thermal power to heat 800 homes per year.

Iona has already established nine anaerobic digestion facilities across Yorkshire, having invested £100 million in the region. The company claims these combine to save the equivalent of 37,300 tonnes of CO2 every year.

Mike Dunn, co-founder of Iona, said: “This partnership with Wensleydale not only shows how we are turning waste food products into useful energy for homes and business, but also our commitment to Yorkshire. Once we have converted the cheese by-product supplied by Wensleydale into sustainable green gas, we can feed what’s left at the end of the process onto neighbouring farmland to improve local topsoil quality. This shows the real impact of the circular economy and the part intelligent investment can play in reducing our CO2 emissions.”

Wensleydale Creamery’s managing director, David Hartley, highlighted the benefits it will bring to the environment and local economy. He said: “It is only possible as a result of significant and continued investments in our Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes and to sign this agreement and have the opportunity to convert a valuable by-product of cheese making into energy that will power hundreds of homes across the region will be fantastic for everyone involved.”

Data release in April showed that over a million homes are now being supplied with biomethane produced by anaerobic digestion.

It was predicted in August last year that Britain would see £400 million pounds of investment in biomethane plants by January 2020.