UK biomass plans heat up with Peterborough Energy Park

Peterborough is the latest town to get a biomass plant

Construction of a new 80MW biomass facility near Peterborough has been given the go-ahead.

Located in Storey's Bar Gate area of the city, the facility will be operated by Peterborough Renewable Energy (PREL), which plans to set up a network of similar sites across the UK.

As well as burning waste biomass to generate energy, the facility will also sort through the waste and "remanufacture" the materials to produce renewable energy, glass, building blocks and other compounds, the company states.

When completed, Peterborough Energy Park will be capable of saving 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per year and producing enough renewable energy to power 60,000 homes, according to PREL.

"As a nation we have set ourselves very ambitious renewables targets and only by embracing renewable technologies such as PREL’s will we be able to achieve these," said PREL managing director Chris Williams.

"Waste can be a valuable resource and using it in a sustainable way will play an essential role in making our future more green.”

The Peterborough facility could create over 300 jobs during the construction phase and 109 skilled green collar jobs once operational. PREL added that a network of energy parks could deliver a saving of 36 million tonnes of GHGs and create over 5,000 jobs.

"This plant will provide reliable, low carbon energy for years to come," said energy and climate change minister David Kidney.

"The UK needs to generate 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and energy from biomass could contribute as much as a third of that. Meeting our target means we have to follow the East of England’s example and build more plants like this."

In September, the government approved the construction of the UK's largest wood-fired facility in Port Talbot, South Wales at around 350MW.

The Prenergy plant in Port Talbot, South Wales is expected to generate power for up to 500,000 homes, while cutting emissions by between 50 and 80 per cent compared to gas or coal-fired power stations.

And in August, energy and climate change minister Lord Hunt announced that the government has given the green light to plans for a 95MW waste-to-energy facility at Ince in Cheshire, which is expected to turn 600,000 tonnes of waste destined each year for landfill into energy.

According to one US business, biomass is the only real renewable sector offering the promise of quick profits.