The Secretary of State for Energy was in Esholt yesterday to congratulate Yorkshire Water for world-beating work on waste water treatment.

Ed Davey was given a tour of the huge 750-acre site by Liberal Democrat MP David Ward and Yorkshire Water Chief Executive Richard Flint, who said the goal was to make the company’s work totally energy self-sufficient.

And in that drive, Esholt will soon benefit from a massive bio-energy facility which harvests gas from waste. This is then used to produce electricity.

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate spoke of the importance of imaginative water management.

“We’ve got to think intelligently about how we use water – it’s such a precious resource,” said Mr Davey, commending Yorkshire Water for its progressive attitude.

“This is a world-beating site and it’s great that they have invested so heavily in new innovations,” he said.

Lib Dem MP Mr Davey said he shared many people’s frustration that such technology was only now coming into use. “I read Schumacher’s ‘Small is Beautiful’ book when I was 18 and that was when I first became aware of the philosophy behind the need to change our technologies,” said Mr Davey, adding that concern for the environment was one reason he entered politics. Yorkshire Water and technical partners Intervate have been awarded £1m from the most recent Energy Entrepreneurs’ Fund, which is for development of innovative projects in power generation.

Mr Flint said: “We’re serious about our commitment to reducing our energy usage and generating much more ourselves.

“We know that energy bills are rising and we need to take steps to protect our customers from the impact of these rises. Generating our own electricity is the logical way to do this and is part of our Blueprint for Yorkshire.

“Last year we reduced our energy use by three per cent, saving 8,700 tonnes of carbon – the same amount as produced if you drive around the world 1,500 times.

The site already generates 45 per cent of its energy needs through hydropower and anaerobic digestion already installed. When the hydropower turbine was installed in 2008 it was the first to generate power from incoming sewage at a UK waste water treatment works.

Mr Davey also launched £19 million of Government funding from the second phase of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund.

The Fund has already allocated £16million since autumn 2012 to help bring a range of new and innovative low carbon products to market.