TEESSIDE SCAFFOLDER
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Air Products bioenergy go ahead in Billingham
by Jez Davison, Evening Gazette
Aug 11 2011
Ian Williamson from Air Products (right) and Nigel FlintoftA MAJOR waste-to-energy scheme that could power 50,000 homes has moved a step closer after planners gave it the green light.
Last year the US firm behind the scheme, Air Products, announced plans for a renewable energy facility at the Reclamation Pond site in Billingham.
Now planners at Stockton Council have given the scheme the go-ahead and construction work is expected to start in the first half of next year, with the plant operational by 2014.
The 49MW Tees Valley Renewable Energy Facility is Air Products’ first advanced gasification energy scheme to be developed in the UK. It is expected to create 500-700 jobs in the construction phase as well as 50 permanent jobs once the plant is up and running.
The company has now opened talks with potential partners on the scheme, including local firms that could use electricity from the plant to power their operations.
But it still needs rubber-stamping by the Environment Agency before it goes ahead.
Yesterday the company said getting planning approval locally was a positive first step.
Ian Williamson, European hydrogen and bioenergy director at Air Products, said: “The UK is seeking more sustainable ways to manage and dispose of its waste, and is looking to diversify its sources of electricity generation. Our technology is able to deliver on both counts.
“In the longer-term, our technology can also produce renewable hydrogen.
“So our renewable energy facility could also play a part in the further development of the hydrogen economy, an area in which Air Products already has considerable experience.”
Under the plans, which have been backed by Climate Change Minister Greg Barker, the Billingham plant will convert household and commercial waste into enough renewable electricity to power up to 50,000 homes.
Advanced gasification technology will convert feedstocks such as non-recyclable waste into an energy-rich gas stream product, which can be used to generate renewable power, hydrogen or bio-fuels.
by Jez Davison, Evening Gazette
Aug 11 2011
Ian Williamson from Air Products (right) and Nigel FlintoftA MAJOR waste-to-energy scheme that could power 50,000 homes has moved a step closer after planners gave it the green light.
Last year the US firm behind the scheme, Air Products, announced plans for a renewable energy facility at the Reclamation Pond site in Billingham.
Now planners at Stockton Council have given the scheme the go-ahead and construction work is expected to start in the first half of next year, with the plant operational by 2014.
The 49MW Tees Valley Renewable Energy Facility is Air Products’ first advanced gasification energy scheme to be developed in the UK. It is expected to create 500-700 jobs in the construction phase as well as 50 permanent jobs once the plant is up and running.
The company has now opened talks with potential partners on the scheme, including local firms that could use electricity from the plant to power their operations.
But it still needs rubber-stamping by the Environment Agency before it goes ahead.
Yesterday the company said getting planning approval locally was a positive first step.
Ian Williamson, European hydrogen and bioenergy director at Air Products, said: “The UK is seeking more sustainable ways to manage and dispose of its waste, and is looking to diversify its sources of electricity generation. Our technology is able to deliver on both counts.
“In the longer-term, our technology can also produce renewable hydrogen.
“So our renewable energy facility could also play a part in the further development of the hydrogen economy, an area in which Air Products already has considerable experience.”
Under the plans, which have been backed by Climate Change Minister Greg Barker, the Billingham plant will convert household and commercial waste into enough renewable electricity to power up to 50,000 homes.
Advanced gasification technology will convert feedstocks such as non-recyclable waste into an energy-rich gas stream product, which can be used to generate renewable power, hydrogen or bio-fuels.