MoreThanWaste.com - UK first for £60m wood burning station (13/11/2007)

"The SembCorp Biomass Power Station is a real success story - providing carbon-neutral power to the homes of thousands, using fuel from local sources. I salute the efforts of Sembcorp’s workers and management"

Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Energy

Teesside, England: A £60M wood burning power station was opened yesterday by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks at the Wilton International manufacturing site, on Teesside.

The plant is the first to be fuelled by wood only, in the UK and has been developed by SembCorp - a Singapore conglomerate.

SembCorp is part owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings which is understood to have in excess of 3,000MW of power capacity worldwide. The company is a leader in industrial utilities and services on Teesside and provides steam and electricity to manufacturers on the Wilton International site.

The company also owns and markets over 300 acres of development land on the Wilton Site which itself extends to around 2000 acres.

Carbon neutral energy will be generated from the wood fuel – the plant is capable of generating 30MW of electricity which is sufficient to power around 30,000 homes.

Malcolm Wicks, Energy Minister

The plant will consume about 300,000 tonnes of sustainable wood each year and save about 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from fossil fuels – this is equivalent to taking 7000 cars off the road.

Forty percent of the wood fuel will come from recycled timber, much of which was previously sent to landfill. Further fuel will come from sustainably managed forests in the north-east, together with waste from sawmills and specially grown short rotation coppiced willow.

Around 7,500 acres of coppice will be required in the NE region. Electricity generated by the plant will be sold to German utility company E.on.

The wood is initially chipped before being mixed in careful proportions, then fed into the boiler, which includes technology already in use in Scandinavia.

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Mr Wicks said:

"The UK energy market is one of the strongest and most diverse in theworld. Our challenge is to find innovative ways to generate energy sustainably. The Sembcorp Biomass Power Station is a real success story - providing carbon-neutral power to the homes of thousands, using fuel from local sources. I salute the efforts of Sembcorp’s workers and management.”

Paul Gavens, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Sembcorp Utilities UK,
said:

“We are greatly honoured that the Minister of State for Energy agreed to open our plant.

“Sembcorp is proud to be at the forefront of this type of biomass power generation and we are committed to creating a greener future for our business.”

Vera Baird QC, Solicitor General and MP for Redcar said:

“This is a tremendous development. Sembcorp provides all the key services at Wilton. By greening their operations, they make the complex more attractive for climate-conscious companies, both existing businesses and new investors. I am proud to have this sustainable, ultra-modern plant in Redcar.”

Plans to build the UK’s first 100 per cent wood-to-energy power station were announced in March 2005 and work began later that year. Full commercial production at the plant started in September this year.


	UK first for £60m wood burning station (13/11/2007) "The SembCorp Biomass Power Station is a real success story - providing carbon-neutral power to the homes of thousands, using fuel from local sources. I salute the efforts of Sembcorp’s workers and management" Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Energy Teesside, England: A £60M wood burning power station was opened yesterday by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks at the Wilton International manufacturing site, on Teesside. The plant is the first to be fuelled by wood only, in the UK and has been developed by SembCorp - a Singapore conglomerate. SembCorp is part owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings which is understood to have in excess of 3,000MW of power capacity worldwide. The company is a leader in industrial utilities and services on Teesside and provides steam and electricity to manufacturers on the Wilton International site. The company also owns and markets over 300 acres of development land on the Wilton Site which itself extends to around 2000 acres. Carbon neutral energy will be generated from the wood fuel – the plant is capable of generating 30MW of electricity which is sufficient to power around 30,000 homes. Malcolm Wicks, Energy Minister The plant will consume about 300,000 tonnes of sustainable wood each year and save about 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from fossil fuels – this is equivalent to taking 7000 cars off the road. Forty percent of the wood fuel will come from recycled timber, much of which was previously sent to landfill. Further fuel will come from sustainably managed forests in the north-east, together with waste from sawmills and specially grown short rotation coppiced willow. Around 7,500 acres of coppice will be required in the NE region. Electricity generated by the plant will be sold to German utility company E.on. The wood is initially chipped before being mixed in careful proportions, then fed into the boiler, which includes technology already in use in Scandinavia. Comments Mr Wicks said: "The UK energy market is one of the strongest and most diverse in theworld. Our challenge is to find innovative ways to generate energy sustainably. The Sembcorp Biomass Power Station is a real success story - providing carbon-neutral power to the homes of thousands, using fuel from local sources. I salute the efforts of Sembcorp’s workers and management.” Paul Gavens, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Sembcorp Utilities UK, said: “We are greatly honoured that the Minister of State for Energy agreed to open our plant. “Sembcorp is proud to be at the forefront of this type of biomass power generation and we are committed to creating a greener future for our business.” Vera Baird QC, Solicitor General and MP for Redcar said: “This is a tremendous development. Sembcorp provides all the key services at Wilton. By greening their operations, they make the complex more attractive for climate-conscious companies, both existing businesses and new investors. I am proud to have this sustainable, ultra-modern plant in Redcar.” Plans to build the UK’s first 100 per cent wood-to-energy power station were announced in March 2005 and work began later that year. Full commercial production at the plant started in September this year.