CP Kelco and the Municipality of Solrød continue the public-private cooperation in view of establishing a biogas plant, which is one of the first of its kind in Denmark. The event was celebrated on 15 June 2011 when the cooperation agreement was signed.
The company CP Kelco ApS in Køge and the Municipality of Solrød now enter a closer cooperation on the establishment of a biogas plant based on seaweed from the Bay of Køge and by-products from CP Kelco. This is one of the results of a feasibility study on the biogas plant, which was published in December 2010; the feasibility study is supported by Growth Forum Zealand; the Universities of Roskilde, Århus, and Copenhagen; Green Centre; Rambøll; the Beach Cleaning Association of Solrød; CP Kelco; and the Municipality of Solrød.
CP Kelco is the world’s largest manufacturer of pectin and carrageenan, both of which are natural vegetable ingredients used, among others, for the improvement of the texture of food and in pharmaceutical products. Pectin is manufactured from dry citrus fruit peels imported from South America and the Middle East where the fruits are first used for juice production. The dry peels are then sent to CP Kelco where pectin is extracted from the peels. Carrageenan is extracted from a special type of seaweed originating from Indonesia, in the sea east of Africa and off Chile. CP Kelco receives thousands of tonnes of raw materials every year for the manufacture of pectin and carrageenan; in the production large quantities of by-products are generated.
With its 21,000 inhabitants the Municipality of Solrød is one of the smallest municipalities of Denmark, but with one of the most ambitious objectives for environment and climate. The Municipality has adopted an objective of reducing its CO2 emissions by 50% before 2025; the establishment of a biogas plant together with CP Kelco will be an important step in attaining this objective. Also, the removal of seaweed will contribute by 70 – 100% to meeting the requirements for reduction of nitrogen and phosphorous in the entire Bay of Køge area in the future national aquatic environment plan.
This cooperation is a very fine example of a public-private cooperation. A common objective has been set regarding the establishment of a biogas plant due to the fact that both parties see major benefits from the project. CP Kelco gets an outlet for its by-products in an economic and environmentally benign manner. The Municipality of Solrød gets a durable solution of the seaweed problems on the Beach of Solrød, and on top of this the bathing water quality will be better and the municipal greenhouse gas emissions will be drastically reduced..
Mayor Hörup comments on the project: “CP Kelco is a visionary environmentally aware company with much know-how and intention to take the lead together with the Municipality of Solrød in grasping a clear opportunity to develop a unique climate and environmental project with major economic benefits. This is full of promise for the future”.
“We have created the basis of a project with high probability of coming into being in cooperation between knowledge centres, municipal players, and industry. A project of such category may very well be difficult to implement without this very interesting private-public cooperation”, says Plant Director Stryger.
