Largest Biomass Plant in U.K. Closes

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The largest biomass conversion plant in the U.K. generated its last power last week after failing to secure government subsidy funding.

The 1,100-megawatt (MW) Tilbury Power Station on the River Thames in Essex had operated as a coal-fired plant for most of its 46 years, but it was partially converted into a 750-MW biomass plant in 2011. Plant owner RWE npower (Swindon, England) said the "difficult decision" was made because it could not secure additional funding from the government under its new low-carbon energy scheme, or Contracts for Difference, to fully convert the power plant to biomass. Tilbury accounted for 10% of the U.K.'s renewable energy in the first quarter of this year.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said that in the case of Tilbury, a plant that had secured funding under the previous subsidy framework, was not guaranteed funding under the new system.

The three converted units at Tilbury could generate 750 MW from burning 100% wood pellets, making it the U.K.'s largest dedicated biomass power station. It was commissioned in January last year, but just a few weeks later two of the three units at had to be shut down following a fire and could not be restarted later that July. For additional information, see March 2, 2012, article - Fire Closes U.K. Biomass Units Until End of July .

"This is a sad time for everyone at Tilbury Power Station, but I would like to personally thank all of our staff past and present who have contributed to the success of the station, particularly in the delivery of such a pioneering development for U.K. biomass," said Nigel Staves, manager of Tilbury Power Station. "Tilbury remains an excellent site for power generation and RWE will now review future plans for the site. The lessons learned from the successful biomass conversion will be shared across the RWE Generation portfolio, as RWE remains committed to exploring new energy technologies that can provide energy solutions that are both affordable and sustainable."

The station was originally scheduled to close in 2015, or after 20,000 hours of operation under the E.U.'s Large Combustion Plant (LCPD) Directive. Those hours ran out last week. RWE had hoped to extend the life of the plant for another 10 to 12 years, which would have required the closure of Tilbury B under LCPD and the development of a full scale biomass conversion to meet new environmental standards. Under this plan, the plant was expected to be operational again in around two years' time.

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