(TDB) - Chilean wine producer VSPT Group has opened a biogas plant that runs using waste from its own harvest, the first winery to do so.

The new Viña San Pedro biogas plant at Molina in the Maule Region was opened this week by the Minster of Energy and the CEO of parent company VSPT, Pedro Herane, eight years after the company first proposed the idea.

The facility will supply around 60% of the energy of one of its biggest facilities in Molina, using two biodigesters to convert organic harvest waste to methane gas. Waste that passes through the biodigester will also be transforms into nitrogen-rich organic matter, which will be used to improve soils in the vineyard.

Herane said the company had made its innovative initiative a reality: “[It is] a strategic objective to ensure the most sustainable operation possible, dealing with our waste in an integrated way. We hope that this will be the beginning of new developments in environmentally-friendly energy in Chile and around the world,” he said

Chile’s Minister of Energy Máximo Pacheco noted the drive to renewable energy was “essential” for Chilean Government and new energy sources had grown over the last few years.

VSPT is also finishing plans for a mini hydro-plant that, once operational, will supply around 65% of the energy for its Tarapacá plant.

Speaking to db ahead of the launch, Herane said the company had a strong record of sustainability and since 2009 had implemented a strategy – Sustain 360 – to boost it green credentials. The two projects form part of the second phase of this sustainability plan.