Yorkshire Water has reached a construction landmark in a £72 million investment project at its Knostrop waste water treatment works in Leeds.

The new state-of the-art sludge treatment and anaerobic digestion facility is the water company’s latest commitment to renewable energy generation.

In the first year of the project four new 25 metre high concrete sludge digester tanks have been built.

Once complete in 2020, the facility will have the ability to:

• recycle 94% of Leeds’ sewage sludge
• be capable of processing 131 tonnes of dry sludge a day
• generate 55% of its own electricity needs the equivalent of providing power to 8,000 homes
• reduce the Knostrop site’s carbon emissions by 15%

Fiona Sugden, Project Manager for Yorkshire Water commented:

 “This is the single biggest investment we are making between 2015 and 2020. The project is going really well and in the last year more than 235,000 hours have been spent on its construction with 150 people working on site each day.”

“It is the latest step in our commitment to invest in renewable energy to benefit the environment and keep customers’ bills low. It also supports Leeds council’s ambition for the Lower Aire Valley to become a hub for green energy and industry.”