E.ON Confirms Sheffield Biomass Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The U.K. arm of German energy giant E.ON AG (OTC:EONGY) (Dusseldorf, Germany) has released details of its planned biomass-fired renewable energy plant for Blackburn Meadows, near the city of Sheffield in England.

The company plans to invest more than €140 million ($189.7 million) to build the project near the old Tinsley Towers. When complete, the facility will be capable of generating up to 30 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough for approximately 40,000 homes. Construction is due to kick off next month, with the plant scheduled for commissioning in mid-2014. The plant will be fired by U.K.-sourced recycled waste wood from wood recycling company R. Plevin & Sons, which is based in Greater Manchester.

"The plans we've announced not only set out the final design of the power station but also confirm our intention to begin construction later this month," explained Dave Rogers, regional director for renewables at E.ON. "As our commitment to Sheffield demonstrates, we're leading the development of renewable energy in the U.K. and biomass power stations, such as Blackburn Meadows, form an important part of that low carbon solution."

Blackburn Meadows biomass plant will be situated 5.5 kilometres from Sheffield and use waste wood feedstock from Plevin for the duration of the plant's life, which is typically 25 years. The waste wood will come from council civic amenity sites, skip hire firms, pallet manufacturers and joinery workshops. It will then be processed into pellets prior to delivery. Plevin operates across six U.K. locations, collecting, processing and distributing 600,000 tonnes of wood a year.

Managing director Jamie Plevin said: "This contract marks an extremely significant milestone in the growth of our company, and we are naturally thrilled. In order to meet the demand, we will be creating new jobs at our existing sites as well as opening a number of new facilities at strategic locations. This geographical expansion will happen either through acquisitions, or through opening new sites ourselves."

E.ON already owns and operates a 44-MW dedicated biomass-fired plant at Steven's Croft, near Lockerbie. The facility produces enough power for about 70,000 homes and displaces approximately 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

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