Bioenergy Plant to Utilize By-Products of Whisky Production

Scotland is all set for constructing a bioenergy plant that utilizes whisky and it’s by- products as fuel. Agreements have been signed recently to enable construction of a combined heat and power generating biomass plant at Rothes in Speyside that utilizes the spin-offs of whisky production process as fuel. The plant is anticipated to get completed by 2013.

The £50m plant project known as ‘the Rothas project,’ a partnership between Helius Energy and a Combination of Rothes Distillers (CoRD) will burn up draff and woodchips to produce enough power to meet the electricity requirements of around 9,000 homes. The power generated from the facility will be distributed through a Danish engineering company, Aalborg Energie Technick. The other product, pot ale will be converted into condensed organic manure and animal feed for supply to the local farmers. The plant when commissioned will become the first of its kind plant that produces power for public use.

Earlier, during last year Napier University scientists have declared the development of a new production method to produce biofuel from the spin-offs of the whisky extracting process. They said that the new fuel will be potent enough to power airplanes and cars and can be made available for supply at petrol bunks in a few years time.