Four Biomass-Fired Power Plants Proposed for Scotland

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The biomass-fired power sector in the United Kingdom has seen a frenzy of activity in recent weeks, and now Forth Energy has joined the fray with the announcement of not one, but four proposed biomass-fired power stations in Scotland.

The company, a joint venture between Scottish and Southern Energy plc (OTC:SSEZY) (SSE) (Perth, Scotland) and Forth Ports plc (Edinburgh, Scotland) has revealed plans to build four plants with a combined capacity of about 400 megawatts (MW). The sites for the proposed plants are located at Forth Ports' sites in Dundee, Leith, Rosyth and Grangemouth. Like many biomass plants, the facilities will also be capable of producing heat that will be used other Forth Ports sites and the neighbouring area.

Earlier this week, another docklands area was earmarked for a biomass facility when the government granted permission for the construction of a 60-MW biomass-fuelled power plant at a disused site in Tilbury Docks, Essex, in southeast England. For additional information, see related news item from September 2, 2009 - U.K. Green Lights 60-Megawatt Biomass Power Plant.

SSE already owns and operates an 80-MW dedicated biomass plant in Slough, England. Forth Ports is the largest port operator in Scotland with seven ports on the Firth of Forth, River Tay and the Thames. According to Forth Energy, the output from dedicated regular biomass plants attracts 1.5 Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) per megawatt-hour. These ROCs can then be sold to energy companies, particularly those operating fossil-fuel-fired power plants, that exceed CO2 pollution limits.

The proposed new plants will be fuelled mainly by softwood sourced from sustainably managed forests in the U.K. and abroad. In line with the Renewables Obligation Order 2009, the firms will provide reporting on the sustainability of their wood sources.

"Creating Forth Energy was designed to give us a new series of opportunities to pursue sustainable energy developments, and these proposals come into that category," said Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE. "It is clear that biomass will play an increasingly important role in energy production over the next 10 years, and it is an area in which SSE expects to be a significant player."

SSE bought its way into the U.K. biomass sector in 2007 when the company purchased Slough Heat and Power Limited (Slough) for about £49.25 million. The combined heat and power plant currently generates about 80 MW but has a potential capacity of 101 MW. The facility was the U.K's largest dedicated biomass energy facility, burning a mix of wood chips, biomass and waste paper.

In a few years the plant will be eclipsed by the new 295-MW Tees renewable energy plant, which was given the green light in July. Owned by MGT Power Limited (London) the £500 million facility will be one of the world's largest biomass-fuelled plants, contributing an impressive 5.5% of the U.K.'s target of generating 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. In real terms, the plant will be able to supply the same amount of same amount of electricity per year as a 1,000-MW windfarm. For additional information, see related news item from July 21, 2009 - U.K. Government Approves 295-Megawatt Biomass-Based Power Plant.

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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