A 49 MW wood waste to energy facility in Stockton-On-Tees, Northern England has been granted planned permission by Stockton Council.
The planned facility is to be developed by Port Clarence Biomass, a new company specifically formed for this project and formed through a partnership between renewable energy developer Eco2 Limited and finance company Temporis Capital, which specialises in renewable energy projects.
The wood waste to energy facility is to be located on land close to the northern side of the Transporter Bridge at Port Clarence.
According to the applicants they have built a number of similar power stations around the UK, they and have committed to use local labour and suppliers in the project, which is estimated to have a capital cost of around £160 million.
Eco2 explained that the development would be based around three main buildings comprising the turbine hall and boiler house, a fuel reception area and a fuel storage barn.
According to the planning application the plant would burn approximately 325,00 tonnes of waste wood per annum, with the fuel mainly sourced from areas to the south of the site and drawn from a variety of sources including construction and demolition sites, civic amenity sites and packaging.
The wood fuel would be delivered on curtain-sided vehicles capable of delivering around 20 tonnes each. It is anticipated that approximately 60 fuel deliveries per day, with access to the site via Huntsman Drive in Port Clarence.
Prism Planning noted that the lack of objection to the scheme meant that the final decision was made by officers at Stockton, but that Councillors and the local Member of Parliament had followed the debate closely and also supported the proposals.
Steve Barker, managing director of Prism Planning explained that the financiers had been involved from the beginning.
“It was supported by the officers of the council, and members were so supportive that it didn’t need to go to planning committee,” he said. “For a scheme of that size to get approved without going to planning committee is very unusual.
