An anaerobic digestion plant near Newport is to supply renewable energy to Vestas.

Black Dog Biogas has secured a way to send electricity to the wind blade manufacturing facility.

Managed by Earth Capital, the Black Dog Biogas site generates enough power to supply around 80 per cent of Vestas’s needs, as well as around 1,200 homes on the Isle of Wight.

Its plant uses anaerobic digestion - where organic matter, such as Isle of Wight-sourced maize and grass, is broken down by enzymes to produce biogas and biofertiliser.

Black Dog uses the biogas as a fuel, in two combined-heat-and-power units, to generate renewable heat and electricity.

Meanwhile, the nutrient-rich biofertiliser is spread back onto arable farmland.

It comes weeks after the opening of a pipeline under the English Channel, importing electrcity from France.

On today's news, Dr Simon Crook, Director of Black Dog & Investment Director of Earth Capital said: “This is a great opportunity for two neighbouring green businesses to deliver a scheme that both makes environmental and commercial sense.

"We could not have wished for a better partner with which to deliver this project.

"Collaborations such as this are vital in helping the UK reduce carbon emissions and embrace renewable energy.

"Biogas is an important part of the low-carbon energy mix and it has the potential to reduce waste to landfill by converting household food waste into energy as well.”

Vestas Offshore Wind Blades UK employs hundreds of people on the Isle of Wight and makes blades for green energy projects.

James Luter, Senior Factory Director at Vestas’s Isle of Wight facility said: “Our plant on the Isle of Wight is strategically important to our growing offshore business.

The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and the Government has unveiled ambitious plans to expand capacity further, a vision we wholeheartedly support.

"We’re pleased that we can contribute to a more sustainable future, by now using renewable energy from Black Dog to manufacture our blades.”