Huge fireball as lightning causes ‘explosion’ after hitting biogas tank
A huge fireball was seen for miles as lightning caused an ‘explosion’ after hitting a biogas tank on Monday evening (October 2).
James Holt www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Videos and pictures have shown how the sky was lit up moments after a thunderstorm passed overhead in Oxfordshire before the mystery bang was reported on social media by members of the public.
Severn Trent Green Power, a waste management company, confirmed the fire had occurred at its Cassington AD facility, near Yarnton, in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday evening. It confirmed biogas within the tank went up in flames.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Severn Trent Green Power can confirm that at around 19:20 this evening, a digester tank at its Cassington AD facility near Yarnton, Oxfordshire, was struck by lightning resulting in the biogas within that tank igniting. We are working with the emergency services to secure the site and will provide further comments in due course.”
The company said it was working with emergency services to secure the site. A company representative told the PA news agency that no-one was injured in the incident.
Videos began circulating on social media on Monday (October 2) showing a large fireball and the sky in the area pulsing an orange colour.
The person who captured footage, shared to X, can be overheard saying: “That’s massive.” He later posted: “I don’t know but it was massive. There were lots of fire brigade /police cars minutes later going through A40.”
Jack Frowde, 34, from Oxford, who works at Oxford University, said: “I was sitting in my kitchen when the whole room lit up with a brilliant white light, then followed by a huge crack which sounded like really heavy thunder.
“I looked out of the kitchen window and it was as if the sky was pulsating orange. I ran to the back to capture the orange glow as it faded after about 20 seconds.”
Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Thames Valley Police have been contacted for comment.
East Devon Watch 
There was one positive attached to this week’s huge explosion in Oxfordshire, when lightning ignited a biogas tank, creating an inferno . . . fortunately, NO ONE WAS HURT!
In answer to EDW’s question ‘Don’t we have one of these near us?. . . over the past decade, there have been many biogas facilities that have been created in the name of ‘green’ energy, utilising various waste materials.. . . but have these industrial plants been stringently regulated to protect the local people who live in close proximity to them?
The Environment Agency’s own regulations dictate that such potentially explosive, production plants should not be sited within 200 metres of ‘sensitive receptors’ (which presumably includes people in their homes!); and local authorities possess planning and environmental powers of control, to direct and restrain under government legislation.
However, some of these industrial, biogas facilities appear to have been built in far-too- close proximity to homes, seemingly without adherence to these Government stipulations, which begs the question, considering climate change and the consequential, more severe, frequent storms (including lightning) expected in future – who and which location will be the subject of the next explosive fireball connected to a biogas industrialised facility – and will East Devon locals be fortunate enough NOT to be injured or worse?
Clyst St Mary has had the misfortune of having the Enfield Farm Biogas Anaerobic Digester sited in Oil Mill Lane, far too close to residential areas, where it has continuously ruined the lives of local people, who are unfortunate enough to live in close proximity to it.
It is well documented that, for many years, locals have been subjected to excessively loud 24/7 industrial noises, putrid odours, innumerable, gigantic, slow-travelling HGVs, congesting and polluting to and from this biogas plant, including recurrent, loud explosions that alarm and frighten householders – but only last week EDDC Planners supported colossal increases in input and output tonnages for Enfield Biogas Anaerobic Digester which will, certainly, increase past detrimental issues, despite heartfelt objections from so many in the Parish and beyond for the Council to enforce conditions and control malpractices that have caused such misery!
So, will anything change for the better, or will it take a catastrophic DISASTER (similar to the biogas inferno in Oxfordshire) before these local regulators see sense and take notice?
Those within close proximity of the next explosion from a biogas facility may not be as lucky as those who escaped injury in Oxfordshire?
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Some of us may remember the Buncefield explosion in Hemel Hempstead in 2005. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buncefield_fire
At the time I was living in High Wycombe, over 15 miles away, and I was woken up early ion the morning by the sound of an explosion and the shaking of our house.
Although there was no damage because we were that far away, there was extensive damage to buildings up to 600m from the explosion.
I have no idea how biogas compares to oil, but it is another indication that these things actually do happen.
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There are a lot more then one Industrial AD plant in or around The so called West End of East Devon District. The gastly Enfield Farm in Clyst St Mary, another one just up the road in Greedale and there is the large waste plant at Willand. Just over the border in Mid Devon you will find a few more, including one at Red Lynhay just East of Tiverton.
You also do not gave to look much further for explosions of biogas tanks. A number of workers were killed when an AD plant went up in Avonmoutha few years ago.
It is an unbeliveably unsustainable way of producing energy, fine if it is kept local ona farm, but seriously polluting when you have to grwo adn rag digestate all over the ocunty adn beyond.
However, it is the poor people of Clyst St Mary who have got it worse. The EDDC panners have justs approved the adding another digester at Enfield while also allowing a trippling of the throughput. Oh and as an aside, the plant will now be able to receive such oderous materials chicken litter.
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