Danes buy Straw-fired Power Plant in U.K.

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - A proposed 40-megawatt (MW) straw-fired biomass plant in Lincolnshire, England, has been snapped up by Danish investors for €187 million ($250 million).

The Brigg project is one of a small number of straw-fired projects in the U.K. and, using locally sourced straw, it will be capable of generating enough electricity for approximately 70,000 homes and reduce the equivalent of 300,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Brigg has been sold by British renewable energy company, Eco2 Limited (Manchester, England).

The new owners are Danish pension group, PensionDanmark and Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S (BWSC), a Danish engineering and contracting firm which develops, builds and operates biomass, biogas and diesel power plants. Eco2 has worked with BWSC on a number of other biomass projects, including the nearby Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant which will burn up to 240,000 tons of straw a year to generate up to 38.5 MW of electricity. Work on Sleaford started last June and the project is set to be completed next year. For additional information, see May 11, 2012, article - U.K. Straw-fired Power Plant Ready to Go.

"This project is a perfect example of sustainable biomass," commented CEO of Eco2, Dr David Williams. "By using locally sourced straw as feedstock, we're using surplus residues to generate energy while contributing to the rural economy by providing long-term, stable supply contracts that catalyse straw production in the region. These contracts will bring £10 million annually to regional farmers, supporting jobs in agriculture."

Darren Williams, Eco2's Commercial Director added: "There is clearly an appetite for this kind of project with investors in the U.K. and internationally. We saw this with the Sleaford project and now with Brigg. Residue-based biomass plants at the right scale are good for the economy, good for the farming community, good for energy security and good for decarbonisation."

Anders Heine Jensen, CEO, BWSC, said: "This is a breakthrough for Danish energy technology exports and for U.K. funding mechanisms. The financial crisis has challenged the success of both British and Danish businesses. Now, BWSC and PensionDanmark are forming a joint venture with the aim of building, owning and operating select biomass power plants internationally. We are using Danish Pension Fund money to improve our competitiveness and to create hundreds of green jobs in our host markets".

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