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Yorkshire Water DBFOM

Decarbonising Yorkshire Water with a bespoke DBFOM commercial model

Green Gas Solutions’ scope included: 

  • Advisory services.
  • Design development.
  • Project funding.
  • Construction & commissioning.
  • Operation & maintenance services.

Project Details

Following the successful installation of the two gas-to-grid projects for Thames Water, GGS signed contracts with Yorkshire Water under a Design, Build, Finance, Operation and Maintenance (DBFOM) model to deliver large biomethane plants at two of their largest wastewater treatment facilities; Blackburn Meadows (Sheffield) and Knostrop (Leeds).

Through this innovative DBFOM model, GGS will own and operate the plants, with all O&M and spares replacement over the term of the projects. Yorkshire Water will retain contractors of the volumes of biogas being upgraded, and the product biomethane will be shipped by Centrica on behalf of Yorkshire Water. GGS will simply receive a fixed monthly “service charge”, with all variable costs on a “pass-through”. CS’ performance commitment is on the GtG plant “availability”, with “gain/pain” share against the contract availability target.

From a specification perspective, the sites will be able to process up to 1,300 Nm3/h (Blackburn Meadows) and 2,900 Nm3/h (Knostrop) of raw biogas. The product biomethane will be injected into a Cadent MP and Northern Gas HP network respectively. In the case of the HP connection, GGS’ design includes a lift compressor compound that is positioned close to the HP pipeline (thus minimising the amount of HP pipework and hence risk and cost).

Construction is well underway at both sites, and both plants are due to be commissioned in early 2026. Once complete, the two projects will allow Yorkshire Water to cumulatively generate up to 225 MWh of green gas per year. That’s enough to heat 20,000 UK homes, offsetting the release of 44,000 tonnes of fossil CO2. Furthermore, there is an option for GGS to deliver CO2 capture capability for both sites which would in turn could generate as much as 15,000 tonnes per year of biogenic CO2.

Green Gas Solutions expertise ensured:

  • Yorkshire Water can maximise the green energy potentail for their AD installations without having to commit large capital sums up front.
  • The commercial model places responsibilities with the correct parties, and that the parties are equipped and motivated to uphold these responsibilities.
  • The design for the plants is both economical and resilient, with GGS’ designers answerable to GGS’ operators as their main stakeholder.
  • Building on the experiences at BrewDog and in partnership with Bohr Engineering, both plants will benefit from a custom GEU. This is a key feature in pursuit of best-in-class availability.