McCain sees potato peel as biofuel source

Frozen food processor McCain is exploring the benefits of using potato peel as a source of biofuel.

“We are interested in this area,” said corporate affairs director Bill Bartlett. “We are looking at the technology - we’ve yet to see whether it is commercially viable.”

However, he added that the firm’s main focus for energy management was its Peterborough site. “We’ve got our hands full at the moment with the energy plant,” he said.

McCain embarked on a £10M project at the plant last year, which involved installing three 80m tall turbines and an anaerobic lagoon.

“Methane from the anaerobic lagoon is currently used to power our boilers," said Bartlett. "Now we’re just about to hook up our electrical generator, which will burn the methane gas to generate electricity."

McCain’s interest in the merits of potato peel follows Heinz’s revelation last week that it aimed to generate 390bn British thermal units of energy by converting peel into biofuel.

The project is in development stages at the company’s US facility in Ontario, Oregon where the biofuel generated will be distributed to a central natural gas pipeline for sale and distribution.