A project milestone has been reached on a £72 million sludge treatment plant project in Leeds.

Work to build four 25-metre high concrete sludge digester tanks as part of a new sludge treatment and anaerobic digestion facility at Knostrop is now complete.

The facility is being built by Clugston Construction and once finished in 2020, it will have the ability to

• recycle 94% of Leeds' sewage sludge

• be capable of processing 131 tonnes of dry sludge a day

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• generate 55% of its own electricity needs the equivalent of providing power to 8,000 homes

• reduce the Knostrop site's carbon emissions by 15%.

Fiona Sugden, Project Manager for Yorkshire Water, said: "This is the single biggest investment we are making between 2015 and 2020. The project is going really well and in the last year more than 235,000 hours have been spent on its construction with 150 people working on site each day. 

"It is the latest step in our commitment to invest in renewable energy to benefit the environment and keep customers' bills low. It also supports Leeds Council's ambition for the Lower Aire Valley to become a hub for green energy and industry."

(LM/JP)