Tamnavulin Distillery switches to LPG

Tamnavulin distillery, owned by Whyte & Mackay, has been operational since 1966, producing over 4 million litres of alcohol per year in the heart of Speyside, Scotland.

With a business requirement to cut costs and carbon emissions, Tamnavulin distillery were keen to investigate how they could save on their fuel costs with an energy supplier they could rely on. Tamnavulin distillery started looking into LPG after realising that new legislation, the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD) was going to affect them.

Tamnavulin were keen to ensure they complied with the directive and approached an LPG supplier to discover how switching to gas would affect their emissions levels. MCPD is new legislation that has been put in place to help tackle air pollution across the UK. It means that any combustion plant with a thermal rated input of between 1-50MWth will need to limit their emissions – specifically sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). The legislation is effective now for any new plants that are built.

Commenting on the switch to LPG, Andy Jardine, Malt Distilleries Operational Manager said:

“We approached an LPG supplier requesting some advice. We knew that as the energy experts, they would be able to advise us of the environmental and cost benefits we could enjoy from switching fuels. As a business it essential for us to go beyond the required environmental standards, and not only have we achieved significant emissions improvements, but we have reduced our fuel bill as well.

The supplier assessed our fuel requirements and the technical team then designed a bespoke gas storage system, installing a 30T mounded gas storage tank, along with all of the pipework and civil work"

Switching Tamnavulin distillery from HFO to gas was managed by an in-house special project division, who have vast experience in designing and installing bespoke systems to match fuel requirements. With the deadline for complying with MCPD legislation on the horizon, Tamnavulin can now rest easy knowing that they are fully compliant, have drastically reduced their carbon footprint and other emissions levels, and they can also reap the cost benefits from switching fuels.