Veolia and Scottish Water have increased the renewable energy generated at Scotland’s largest wastewater treatment works, Seafield in Leith, Edinburgh.
Since June 2022 Seafield has been a net exporter of renewable electricity producing over 108% of the electricity it requires to run the site, with generation on some days being in excess of 125% of the site’s needs.
Seafield treats 300 million litres of waste water every day from around 850,000 people in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. The site produces its own renewable biogas supply from the anaerobic digestion and uses this to generate renewable electricity and heat to support the site’s operations. It now has 3.9MWe of combined heat and power technologies that provide energy self-sufficiency, takes pressure off the grid and cuts carbon emissions and energy costs.
Gavin Graveson, Veolia senior executive vice president Northern Europe Zone said, “Recent estimates indicate that the water industry could be self-sustaining for electricity by harnessing the 11 billion litre annual flow of waste water…

“This achievement really demonstrates what is possible now, and the future shows an even greater potential for this technology. If all available 130 million tonnes of untreated feedstocks, such as wastewater, agricultural slurry, food and green waste were treated through anaerobic digestion (AD) this could supply renewable electricity equivalent to powering 10.2 million homes.”