Pile on the fries – potato power comes to PEI

Applying an ingenious green cycle, Cavendish Farms in Prince Edward Island is now using the solid waste from its potato processing plant to make a gas that in turn can be used to fuel the processing.

The potato giant unveiled a Bio-Gas facility at its potato plant in New Annan in June. It uses anaerobic digestion to convert the waste from the potatoes into energy. The residue provides an organic, natural fertilizer that can be used on the fields.

The project was led by Irving Engineering team with support from Stantec’s office in Fredericton and the German firm of Krieg & Fischer.

Among the environmental benefits are a 30% reduction in the overall carbon footprint of the plants, as well as a reduced dependence on fossil fuel used to power the boilers (about 10 million litres a year), and a reduction in trucking requirements.