The Prince of Wales and Sainsbury’s are among those investing £65 million in a new start-up company that will turn organic waste into energy at plants in the UK.

Tamar is expected to generate around 100 megawatts of energy over the next five years in 40 anaerobic digestion (AD) plants around the UK.

Sainsbury’s is investing £2m in Tamar. The move follows its announcement at the end of last year that it is working towards sending all its food waste to AD facilities.

As part of the deal, Sainsbury's will also work with their suppliers to ensure that they have access to Tamar's new AD plants, which will reduce waste in the supply chain.

The supermarket’s chief executive, Justin King, said: "Sainsbury's is the UK's leading retail user of AD so we are delighted to be an investor and strategic partner of Tamar Energy.

"We will be working closely with our suppliers to ensure they have access to the new plants to help them reduce the environmental impact of their operations, a key strand of our 20 by 20 Sustainability Plan.

"With the support of our suppliers we are very confident that this new venture will be a success, helping build Tamar Energy into the UK's leading green energy company."

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman said the move shows what can be done to tackle the problem of rising landfill and the increasing taxes on it.

"This investment shows there are great business opportunities in this technology, creating heat and power to run homes and businesses and reducing the amount of organic waste that would otherwise lie rotting in landfill."

The investors were led by Lord Rothschild's investment vehicle, RIT Capital Partners, and also includes Islamic investment firm Fajr Capital and Lord Rothschild's Family Interests.

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