14 DAY TRIAL // On April 7, Thames Water and 2OC went public with the news that they had entered a partnership whose goal was that of rolling out the world's largest fat-fuelled power station.
More precisely, said companies intend to begin collecting the cooking waste (i.e. grease, oil and fat) currently clogging the sewers of said city, and use it to produce energy.
According to the official website for Thames Water, some of the energy produced by processing these so-called fatbergs is to help keep both several sewage works and a desalination plant up and running.
The country's National Grid is set to have the remaining energy fed into it, the same source informs us.
Thus, out of the 130 Gigawatt hours this fat-fuelled power station is set to produce throughout the course of a year, 75GWh will be purchased by Thames Water and used to run both Beckton sewage works and a local desalination plant.
The remaining 55GWh are expected to be sold to the National Grid, and will therefore serve to power both homes and businesses.
Given the fact that the business of clearing London's blocked drains of the fatbergs that keep them from functioning properly is a rather costly endeavor, most companies salute Thames Water's and 2OC idea of collecting the fat and using it to produce energy.
The current Commercial Director for Thames Water, Piers Clark, wished to stress the fact that, “This project is a win-win: renewable power, hedged from the price fluctuations of the non-renewable mainstream power markets, and helping tackle the ongoing operational problem of 'fatbergs' in sewers.”
Due to the fact that the fatbergs collected from London's sewage system will only provide half the fuel that this power station will need in order to be fully operational, waste vegetable oil and animal fats will also be used.
“Leftover, low-grade cooking oil and food fat will be collected from food outlets and manufacturers. Solidified grease, such as from lamb and chicken, will be harvested from 'fat traps' in restaurant kitchens and from pinch-points around the capital's sewer network. The rest of the power plant’s fuel will come from waste vegetable oils and tallow (animal fat).” Thames Water explains.
The power station will most likely become operational as early as the year 2015.