Jonathan Taylor, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank is in Manchester this week to open United Utilities’ award-winning £100m energy recovery plant - the EIB is the company's biggest single investor.

The water company’s Davyhulme Sludge Recycling Centre takes a round-the-clock waste stream, Manchester’s wastewater sludge, and converts it into a high quality soil conditioner for farmers while generating renewable electricity from the biogas produced during the process.

The plant has been setting new standards in resource recovery since it was completed last year and crowned ‘the most innovative green energy scheme in the world’ when it won the Institute of Chemical Engineer’s Energy Award.

United Utilities has borrowed £1.5bn of funding from the European Investment Bank over the last ten years for a series of high profile construction projects aimed at improving the environment. These include the £200m extension at Liverpool wastewater treatment works which will help clean the River Mersey, and the stormwater tunnel project at Preston, costing more than £100m, which is helping improve bathing waters along the Fylde coast.

Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice President, said:

“The latest investment in Davyhulme builds on more than a century of world-leading wastewater innovation. The European Investment Bank is pleased to support the Davyhulme Sludge Recycling Centre that will process waste on behalf of businesses and people throughout the North West. We look forward to continuing to work closely with United Utilities and backing cutting edge investment across the UK water and wastewater sector.”

Russ Houlden, Chief Financial Officer at United Utilities commented:

“£100 million is a substantial investment, and by tapping into this affordable finance from Europe, we are able to deliver these improvements right now for our customers to enjoy for decades to come.”

“The EIB is the biggest single investor in United Utilities and its cost-effective funding provides real value for money for our customers. Given the tough economic climate, it is really encouraging that the bank continues to have strong appetite to help United Utilities deliver the essential new infrastructure that will improve the quality of life for everyone here in the North West of England.”

The drive for innovation and improvement is continuing at Davyhulme as a major modernisation programme is planned at the site. Parts of the treatment process date back to the 1930s and the company is proposing to modernise and extend the plant to treat Manchester’s wastewater to the highest ever standards.

The plant can generate up to 80GWh of electricity per year – a volume of electricity which would have cost over £6m if purchased at current electricity prices, the equivalent of the needs of 25,000 homes.

The electricity is used on site to power the entire treatment works process at Davyhulme, which is one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the UK.

The plant is seen as a flagship example of the £4.8 billion of support provided to innovative and sustainable new infrastructure projects across the UK last year by the EIB, the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States.