Within 10 months of operating its £5.3m investment in an anaerobic digestion plant, Muntons, the Stowmarket based maltster, is proud to announce that the plant has just generated its one millionth kilowatt hour of electrical energy.

The plant was officially opened on September 25th by The Baroness Scott of Needham Market who commented at the time “This is a magnificent project” and said she “was not surprised that Muntons had won many awards for sustainability. It was a scheme people in Suffolk could be proud of”. Also at the opening ceremony local MP Jo Churchill commented “This is exactly the sort of investment in Green technology that businesses should be making…. another example of a great Suffolk based company making sustainable and progressive changes to their operation.”

Muntons have installed this plant to produce up to 25% of its electricity demand locally and the plant is performing very well. Manufacturing and Sustainability Director, Dr Nigel Davies explained the significance: “At the outset we were faced with doubt about the likelihood of success of such an ambitious project, but it has proven to be just as good as the extensive pre-construction trials we conducted”.

What is the significance of 1 million kilowatt hours? To put it into a more accessible way, this amount of energy would power around 300 average homes for 1 year or power a 60W incandescent light bulb for 300 years. If you are into fitness and cycle in the gym on an exercise bike at an average rate it would take you around 100 years pedalling to equal the amount of energy generated!

Dr Davies summarised the achievement: “This is a very significant success story wholly supportive of Muntons ethos of ‘Practical Sustainability’. It demonstrates how being bold enough to secure significant funding for innovative environmentally beneficial projects can deliver real savings and, by local generation and use, take the pressure of the electrical supply network in the UK that we are constantly hearing is under pressure.”