Biomass-to-energy company Compact Power is to receive 5 million from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the 20m plant, which should now be operational by the third quarter of 2008.
 Plans for the new pyrolysis plant to be built next to Compact Power's existing pilot plant (coloured light blue in picture above) |
The funding approval came just a month before the Defra programme's original deadline to have 10 new technology waste treatment plants up and running.
It will see a plant established capable of processing 34,000 tonnes of Bristol's residual waste, to demonstrate the technology of pyrolysis and gasification. This involves the high-temperature “cooking” of waste to generate a fuel from which to generate 3.8 MW of energy and 15MW of heat for use by local industry.
The new facility, which already has planning consent, will be built alongside Compact Power's existing pilot plant at its site in Avonmouth.
Compact Power had gone ahead to seek funding without the Defra funding, since it was taking so long to arrange (see letsrecycle.com story), but now that the Department has agreed funding, the company has been able to re-negotiate finances for the plant on more favourable terms. The company believes the Defra seal of approval will also be important in exploiting its technology in other possible pyrolysis plants elsewhere in Britain.
The new finance contract for the Avonmouth plant is expected to be finalised in the next few weeks.
Bristol
Waste for the plant will come from Bristol households, and will help the city council to meet its Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme targets from 2008.
Nic Cooper, chairman of Compact Power, said: “This programme will help Bristol city council achieve its targets for diverting biodegradable municipal waste from landfill and will show other councils the potential for this technology.”
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Cllr Gary Hopkins, executive member for environment at Bristol city council, said: “We are pleased that the government is now supporting this Bristol-based technology, which we have been encouraging for some time.
“It will make an important contribution to our targets for landfill diversion and renewable energy,” Cllr Hopkins added.
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