A Scottish distillery is to launch a pioneering scheme to turn waste sludge from whisky production into green energy.
The Bruichladdich distillery on Islay is to build an anaerobic digester next month to convert thousands of tons of yeasty waste into methane gas, which will be burned to make electricity.
Seven other distilleries on the island - Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain and Kilchoman - are understood to be considering similar schemes.
If the project proves a success, much of the island's electricity could be generated by its distilleries. There may even be gas left over for methane-powered vehicles.
"We are going to install two anaerobic digesters on our site. In theory, it could meet all our power needs," said Mark Reynier, the owner of Bruichladdich.
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Tons of waste from the distilleries are pumped into the sea each week via a pipeline to the Sound of Islay. Anaerobic digesters, in which bacteria break down the organic waste to produce methane, would use up the waste and cut the distillers' carbon footprint by supplying up to 80% of the energy needed for whisky production Bruichladdich spends £20,000 a year on disposing of its waste.
"The digesters will cost about £300,000 in capital outlay, so it should take just three to five years to recoup the cost," said Reynier.
The system at the Bruichladdich distillery will be built by Biowayste, a Northamptonshire firm that has set up five such plants, including one at Muntons, a brewing company in Suffolk, and at Orchard House Foods in Northamptonshire.
"The whisky distillers are increasingly aware of their environmental impact, so if we can prove our systems at Bruichladdich, I hope we will get the other seven distilleries interested, too," said Barry Howard, Biowayste's chairman.