Details of a planned £50 million plant to turn cooking oil from fast food giants such as McDonalds and Burger King into energy and bio-diesel, have been revealed. Agri-Energy said the plant in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire would also process agricultural crops and animal by-products to create renewable power. The process effectively involves the conversion of environmentally sustainable feed stocks such as tallow and used cooking oil, along with virgin oil crops such as rapeseed, into bio-diesel and power. The raw materials would come from the company's own abattoirs in the UK and used cooking oil stocks sourced directly from restaurants and various partners in their meat processing division, such as McDonalds and Burger King.
The used cooking oil would be refined before arriving at Milford where it would then be used to fuel the 35 mega-watt power plant, which would produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 60,000 homes. It would also make around 200,000 tonnes of bio-diesel every year, mainly to be used in local refineries. People living near the proposed plant have expressed concerns over odours and traffic, to which Agri-Energy have responded by staging exhibitions throughout April 2007. They have also hosted a Q & A page on their website designed to allay residents' fears.
