Enfield council has granted Irish renewable energy firm Kedco planning permission to develop a £45 million waste wood biomass-gasification plant at a site in North London.
The facility is expected to be able to treat up to 60,000 tonnes-a-year of waste wood once it becomes operational, producing 12MW of electricity and 10MW of heat.
And, the company said it has already agreed a 10-year feedstock agreement with an unnamed local waste operator. Waste wood is set to be drawn from the construction and demolition sectors, with a planning document presented to the Greater London Authority (GLA) stating it would be drawn from waste sites within a five miles radius of the Edmonton plant.
In addition, the Irish company said it has received notification from the GLA that they will not refuse planning consent for the gasification plant.
Commenting on the approval, Donal Buckley, chief executive of Kedco, said: “We believe that the biomass clean-tech sector is currently at the same stage as the wind industry was five years ago. This represents an enormous opportunity for growth for Kedco.”
He added: “We believe that the granting of this consent shows the commitment of the Greater London Authority and Enfield council to the biomass sector within London.”
Offtakers
Kedco is currently in discussions with two potential purchasers for heat produced from the Enfield site. And, the ability to convert waste wood to feedstock on site is expected to help cut down the number of lorry movements needed around the Edmonton site.
Environmental consultancy services firm London Remade Solutions (LRS) Consultancy is working with Kedco to gain environmental permits for the site, having helped the company identify a site and develop their proposal.
Kedco said it should be able to deliver the plant to an operational level 18 months after the funding for the facility is in place. And, if the operation runs as expected, Kedco said it would be capable of generating around £9 million of income per year before tax, intangibles, deductions and amortisations.
Biomass
The Irish renewable energy firm comprises of two divisions: Kedco Power, which focuses on electrical power generation and Kedco Vudlande, which is a Latvia-based subsidiary producing biomass and wood products. And, the firm said Kedco Vudlande could be used as a backup fuel supply for Kedco-operated biomass facilities.
In addition to its work on biomass and gasification, Kedco has signed a working agreement with German biogas technology company AgriKomp GmbH to develop anaerobic digestion facilities for agricultural waste to be rolled-out across the UK and Ireland.
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