Pembrokeshire County Council on behalf of the South West Wales Corporate Joint Committee is developing the South West Wales DATGLOI Powering Cleaner Rivers project to explore how catchment-scale anaerobic digestion can support Wales’s climate change and nature recovery targets by bringing together agricultural nutrient management, renewable energy generation, river restoration and circular economy innovation within a single integrated model.
The project will focus on the potential development of anaerobic digestion infrastructure at a pilot site at Cwm Gwyrdd Nantycaws; the emerging circular economy park in Carmarthenshire. The study will assess how agricultural slurry, and other organic waste streams could be collected, processed and converted into renewable energy, while also supporting improved nutrient management in sensitive river catchments.
It will investigate how anaerobic digestion could improve slurry management, generate low-carbon energy, recover nutrients for reuse and export out of the catchment, reduce reliance on imported fertilisers, and support wider catchment recovery objectives. The project will also explore opportunities to process digestate into higher-value products, including potential biochar applications, creating further opportunities for carbon sequestration and circular economy development.
The purpose of this commission is to determine the technical, environmental, regulatory, commercial and financial viability of delivering catchment-scale anaerobic digestion and nutrient recovery infrastructure within the South West Wales region to solve multiple complex challenges.
The purpose of this commission is to:
1. Determine the technical, environmental, regulatory and commercial viability of a catchment-scale anaerobic digestion facility using Nantycaws/Cwm Gwyrdd as a pilot test site.
2. Assess the contribution that strategically planned nutrient recovery infrastructure could make towards nutrient neutrality, river restoration, climate mitigation and circular economy objectives.
3. Develop an investment-ready Outline Business Case that identifies preferred delivery, ownership and financing models.
4. Where additional funding is available, develop a replicable framework that can be applied across priority Welsh catchments.
5. Provide SWWCJC and partner authorities with a robust evidence base to support future investment decisions.