Liverpool Getting Wood Waste Power Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - One of the largest wood-waste combined heating and power (CHP) projects in the U.K. is to be built in Widnes in Merseyside.

The €140.4 million ($171 million) project will involve the construction of a plant capable of generating 20.2-megawatts of electricity (MWe) and 7.8 MW of heat. The project is benefitting from a loan and additional investment from for the U.K. government's Green Investment Bank (GiB). It will be commissioned in December 2016 and produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 35,000 homes.

The project will be led by transport and energy group Stobart, which will hold a 40% stake. The Green Investment Bank will hold a 49% stake while the remaining 11% will be controlled by Denmark's Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC), the project's engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The plant will be located within the Mersey Multimodal Gateway project, a 180 hectare logistics hub, just west of Liverpool.

The U.K.'s Business Secretary, Vince Cable, welcomed the deal: "This investment in one of the largest green power plants in the U.K. 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."

Shaun Kingsbury, Chief Executive, U.K. Green Investment Bank, commented: "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."

In late 2013, Industrial Info reported on the GiB's investment in Ireland's largest biomass project, the 15.8 MW Evermore Renewable Energy biomass power station being built by BWSC in Lisahally, Northern Ireland. For additional information, see October 22, 2013, article - Deal Struck at Ireland's Largest Biomass Plant.

The new Widnes plant will burn 146,000 tons of waste wood annually. Heat from the plant will be used to in a neighbouring wood drying facility owned by Stobart, which will dry 140,000 tons of virgin wood material a year for sale into the wood chip and pellet market.

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