A HEREFORD-based meat giant has signed a 20-year agreement with an Irish Agri-Tech company to convert poultry manure to energy.

The practice will take place using BHSL's technology at Cargill's Shobdon and Hangar poultry farm in north Herefordshire.

Limerick-based BHSL will build a 1 Mega Watt plant on the farm to use some 3,500 tonnes of poultry litter a year to generate heat and electricity.

The new energy centre will contain the BHSL Fluidised Bed Combustion plant, toploaders, and a Heliex electricity generation plant.

A three-kilometre district heating network and heaters for 13 poultry houses will also be installed.

The heat and electricity generated qualifies for the UK Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs).

The commissioning and operation of the new BHSL energy centre in Herefordshire will be approved and regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

John Reed, agriculture director at Cargill said the company had selected BHSL for a number of reasons, including energy savings and bird welfare benefits.

Sean Fitzpatrick from BHSL said: "We are extremely excited to be working with Cargill, and helping them to extend their leadership in Sustainable Food Production.

"Cargill will be the first to leverage the proven benefits of using poultry manure on the farm to generate heat and electricity.

"This is a genuine game changer for the poultry industry. For the first time the by-product (manure) from chicken production is used as a low cost energy source to grow chicken sustainably and efficiently."