Green energy trial launches in South Gloucestershire - using grass cuttings
The idea is being trialled in Yate before a rollout across other parts of the region in 2024
Last updated 12th Sep 2023
A trial has been launched by South Gloucestershire Council for generating green energy.
The local authority are looking at how grass cuttings can be used - in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint of the region's highway network.
It's part of a three-year, £30 million scheme by the Department for Transport, hoping to look at different ways of generating energy and reducing their impact on the environment.
It's called 'ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK', and will see the council using new machinery to cut and collect grass from highway verges and other green spaces.
The grass will then be mixed with the council’s food waste and taken to an energy-from-waste plant where the mixture will be subject to a process called anaerobic digestion.
The innovation project, called Greenprint, will be looking into potential new ways the cuttings could be used.
The kind of things being investigated include producing biogas, biomethane fuel for vehicles and an additive for asphalt road surfacing material called biochar.
The project is being carried out jointly with West Sussex County Council, who also be trialling a scheme with very similar tech.
It's hoped to contribute towards both council's response to the climate crisis, in which they have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
It is hoped the Greenprint project will reduce the council’s carbon footprint, encourage wildflowers, help insects to thrive and allow the soil to store more carbon.
A key element of the programme will see the local authority reduce the frequency of grass cuts in the region, as this encourages greater biodiversity and increases the level of carbon stored in the soil.
The new arrangements are to be piloted in selected areas of Yate with plans to roll it out to other parts of South Gloucestershire from next year.
South Gloucestershire Council has worked closely with Yate Town Council to identify the areas of grass to include.
The three-year trial will be followed by a further five years of monitoring of the environmental benefits, impact, and costs, which will contribute to helping the local authority decide whether to make the changes permanent.
Councillor Louise Harris, cabinet member with responsibility for the climate and nature emergency at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “This is an exciting innovative project which is considering new ways of working to help with our climate and nature emergency goals.
“Our green spaces are an important local amenity, but they also play a key part in supporting the nature recovery and how we manage a changing climate.
“For this trial we will be changing the way we manage our grass areas, along highways and in green spaces, to see if we can make a difference supporting ecology and biodiversity.
“Over the next three years South Gloucestershire will be a test bed for finding a way to reduce our carbon footprint when it comes to managing our highways, which if successful could eventually be replicated by local authorities across the country.”
Giles Perkins, Live Labs 2 Programme Director said: “The Greenprint Live Lab highlights the role an underappreciated part of the local highways’ asset base could contribute to reducing carbon emissions. This first step is an exciting one in considering how we approach local roads as a whole system from a decarbonisation point of view.”
Greenprint, was awarded £4 million by ADEPT Live Labs 2, to examine how changing the way local authority grass areas are managed can provide a source of materials and fuels to decarbonise highway operations, as well as supporting other benefits such as increasing biodiversity and resilience to the changing climate.
If you want to find out more about the Greenprint scheme, you can do so here.