The 20.2MWe and 7.8MWth facility is being developed within the 180-acre Mersey Multimodal Gateway project – a logistics hub just west of Liverpool – by Danish firm Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) and UK logistics company Stobart Group.
Described as the largest waste wood renewable energy plant in the North West, the plant will be powered by 146,000 tonnes of grade B and C recovered wood per year sourced by Stobart Biomass Products Ltd (part of the Stobart Group) under a 16-year fuel supply contract.
Feedstock is expected to be sourced locally and transported by road or rail before being stored in a 6,000 cubic metre indoor storage facility before processing.
The plant is expected to become operational by December 2016 and will provide power to the national grid – enough to supply 35,000 homes each year – while the heat offtake will be used by Stobart’s adjacent wood-drying facility.
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20 full times jobs will be created at the facility, which gained planning permission from Halton borough council in May 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Over its lifetime the project is estimated to save around 1.3m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the equivalent to taking nearly 30,000 cars off the road.
Investment
GIB announced today (November 21) that it is providing £16.9m of mezzanine loans and also making a £13.2m equity investment via its Foresight-managed fund, UK Waste Resources & Energy Investments (UKWREI), in which it is the cornerstone investor.
The remainder of the £42.1m mezzanine finance is being provided by GCP Infrastructure Investors (GCP).
In addition, Investec Bank plc (Investec Bank) and Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF) have together committed £42.5m of senior loans to the project, while Stobart and BWSC will both take an equity stake with commitments of £9.8m and £2.6m respectively.
Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said: “This investment in one of the largest green power plants in the UK will create more than 200 local jobs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and generate enough renewable energy to power 35,000 homes a year.
“The project would not have happened without the Green Investment Bank – it is at the heart of our industrial strategy, improving energy efficiency through innovation and creating sustainable jobs and growth.”
GIB
This project has brought together the same investors who are behind the construction of the 15MW CHP Evermore Renewable Energy project in Northern Ireland, announced by GIB and Foresight in July 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Chief executive of the GIB, Shaun Kingsbury, said: “This project is a great example of how we can build the next generation of energy and waste management infrastructure in a way that is green, cost-effective and highly efficient. This type of innovative infrastructure adds to our domestic electricity generation and reduces our carbon emissions.
“What is particularly important is that these projects are replicable and scalable. The Widnes project has been brought together by the team that supported a similar project in Northern Ireland and I hope we will see many more.”
The Widnes facility is BWSC’s third biomass project in the UK. The firm recently opened its 38.5MW straw-fired biomass power plant in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, while it was also involved in the construction of the Western Wood Energy Biomass Plant in Port Talbot, which is also supplied by Stobart (see letsrecycle.com story).
Richard Butcher, chief executive of Stobart Energy & Infrastructure, commented: “This agreement secures an attractive energy investment for the Group and will make an important contribution towards achieving our target of delivering two million tonnes of fuel per annum into the UK biomass market by 2017/18. It also demonstrates the strength of our integrated infrastructure, energy and engineering capabilities.
“This CHP plant will generate a strong return on investment in the plant’s equity as well as providing the Group with a 16-year biomass fuel supply contract, a long-term wood drying income stream and valuable engineering revenue on the development.”
Related Links:
–Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC)
–Stobart Group
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