A group of Scottish whisky distillers has collaborated on a novel project to turn by-products of the distillation process into usable energy.
The facility in Rothes is located in an area of the Scottish Highlands that is home to around 50 whisky distilleries, and produces enough energy to power entire communities across the rural landscape. The blended-biomass plant works by generating heat and power by burning draff, the spent grains used in the distillation of whisky, with woodchips. This then creates enough steam-generating electricity to power around 8,000 homes.
One of the companies involved in the partnership is John Dewar & Sons, which has championed wider sustainability efforts by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 34% since 2006; its water use by 46% since 2009; and its waste to landfill by 30% since 2010.
“A number of whisky companies are part of an industry consortium looking at sustainable ways of processing by-products from our distilleries,” explained John Dewar & Sons operations director Iain Lochhead.
“We generate 8.3 megawatts of electricity every hour of every day. We use some on site and export the rest – enough for 20,000 people in 8,000 homes,” added Frank Burns, managing director of the Rothes CoRDe facility, which is partly owned by The Combination of Rothes Distillers.
“By recovering by-products from our distilleries, we turn them into material of purpose and value,” added Burns.
The Scotch Whisky Association’s David Williamson concluded: “In the end, we want to take this industry forward, to invest and grow, but also make sure we preserve the natural environment we rely on to support Scotch whisky for many years to come.”
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