The plant is the latest part of a £31 million drive by chipboard manufacturer Norbord to protect the environment and will process 24,000 tonnes of material a year which would otherwise go to landfill.
Launching it on Wednesday, Mr Wicks said: “Norbord are to be congratulated. Using biomass in this way will reduce carbon emissions and therefore play an important role in tackling climate change. The new plant at Cowie is a real success story, utilising waste wood and residues that would normally end up in landfill. The investment that they have made, and commitment shown, is commendable.”
Fuel
At the Cowie site, Norbord will produce biomass fuel from bark and wood residue created in the manufacturing of wood-based panels. None will be sourced off-site.
The boiler will turn this fuel into 10MW of steam and thermal energy a year, which will be used by the company itself.
Steve Roebuck, Director of Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs at Norbord, explained that government support for renewable energy was helping to drive this and other similar projects.
He said: “The central plank of the Government's energy policy is to drive us all towards renewable energy production and this is exactly what is happening at Norbord – where 70% of our fuel is derived from renewables, all coming from process residues.”
Mr Roebuck added that at present, there was a “huge” amount of available biomass going to landfill which was just being ignored.
He said: “New modern energy from waste plants should be supported to deliver a number of advantages, including the delivery of energy from a continuing waste stream, tackling the issue of fast filling up landfill sites and all without using virgin wood, where demand is already outstripping supply.
“Waste should only go to landfill after all recyclable parts have been recovered and then the rest burned to produce energy. This source should be used in preference to virgin biomass material, which should be used and then recycled, only being combusted for energy generation when it has reached the end of the recycling chain,” he added.
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