Cheltenham based professional services firm Knights has advised on a major scheme that will bring a £1 million Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant to Herefordshire.
To be located on existing farmland, the AD Plant will create sustainable energy from existing farm waste, turning it into green electricity for use on the farm with excess energy to be sold to the National Grid.
Agricultural experts and specialists in delivering legal advice across multiple sectors, Knights managed all legal work surrounding the financing and engineering of the AD Plant, property leases, and operating contracts, as well advising on additional feedstock and purchase agreements.
The construction of the plant is now underway and, once complete in spring 2016, will create a new income stream for the farm, introducing more efficient ways of working and supporting the growth of the renewables sector.
Partner and agricultural expert at Knights, Sarah Denney-Richards led the project working closely with partners from the commercial, property, finance and construction teams to complete the work on behalf of the client within six months.
“These types of projects require a high level of co-operation and understanding between the various parties involved in financing, constructing and operating the AD Plant, so we have been using our knowledge and expertise at managing complex transactions to ensure that everything comes together at the right time in readiness for construction,” said Sarah.
“The AD Plant demonstrates how farmers and other businesses can diversify and use by-products of their existing work to generate power and an additional source of income. We have helped a number of clients in the agricultural sector successfully on AD projects and on major renewable energy projects across the UK.”
Office leader, Mark Anton-Smith for Knights’ Cheltenham office said: “This is just one example of the way the Knights is able to offer a full suite of professional services to our clients, making complex transactions easier and quicker”.
“Because we have such a range of specialists in our team we are becoming well known for handling particularly complex cases across all aspects of law. We now have an office in Oxford, further bolstering our team of experts to 300 across Knights and are proud to have helped deliver another successful project supporting the renewables sector.”
