Tamar appoints new chief executive

Renewable energy company Tamar Energy has appointed William Heller as its new chief executive, taking over the role from Alan Lovell.

Mr Lovell who previously acted as both chairman and chief executive will continue in his role as chairman of the London-based company.

Arriving from energy company Falck Renewables Wind where he was also chief executive, Mr Heller has more than 30 years experience in the global energy industry and will oversee the growth of Tamar as it rolls out its UK-wide AD network, the firm said.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Heller said: Tamar Energy has achieved many milestones in the past two years. I look forward to continuing the great work carried out as we see AD facilities move to full operation and the UK network grow with further plants in construction.

He added: I hope to use my experience in emerging renewable industries, both in the UK and Europe, to ensure that Tamar Energy establishes itself at the centre of the green energy agenda, with a UK-wide network of facilities at its heart.

AD plants

The announcement comes as the companys first two anaerobic digestion (AD) plants in Basingstoke and Holbeach Hurn have started exporting electricity to the national grid.

The companys 1.5MW plant in Basingstoke will process 30,000 tonnes of food waste per year, while the 1.5MW Holbeach Hurn facility which began commissioning in late 2013 is set to process 30,000 tonnes of vegetable waste per year.

Chairman of Tamar Energy, Mr Lovell said of Mr Hellers appointment: We are delighted to have Willie joining us at Tamar Energy and strongly believe that his experience can help us achieve the vision we set out for the company at its inception.

The company also has AD sites in the advanced stages of development, including sites at Halstead in Essex, Retford in Nottinghamshire and Evercreech in Somerset.

It was announced in July 2013 that waste infrastructure developer Peel Environmental has partnered with the firm to develop five AD plans across the North of England (see letsrecycle.com story).

Tamar plans to have a national network of up to 40 plants by 2018, which it estimates will generate 100MW of electricity enough to power more than 200,000 homes.

The company was established in February 2012 with around 97 million in financial backing from investors including The Duchy of Cornwall, The Rothschild family and Rothschild Investment Trust, Dubai-based investment company Fajr Capital and supermarket chain Sainsburys.