Industrial gases and equipment supplier, Air Products, has submitted an initial scoping document to Stockton-on-Tees borough council for a gasification plant in the Tees Valley, which will treat up to 350,000 tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste per annum.
The proposed scheme, which will be located at the Reclamation Pond site – adjacent to the North Tees Chemical Complex, near Billingham – is set to use advanced gasification technology provided by Alter NRG to convert pre-processed waste to baseload, renewable power. It will have a total capacity of 49MW.
For the plant to go ahead, it will require planning consent from Stockton-on-Tees borough council and an environmental permitting consent from the Environment Agency.
Teesside-based waste company and landowner Impetus Reclamation owns the Reclamation Pond site – which has been renamed the New Energy and Technology Business Park (NETBP) – and Air Products says it will be working closely with the company over the coming weeks to to carry out a full assessment into the availability of waste for the plant.
Air Products claims that by diverting waste from landfill, the proposed scheme will also offer an environmentally-friendly solution for the production of renewable energy in the North East.
Hydrogen
The company is also looking into the potential of generating renewable hydrogen for mobile and stationary energy applications from the plant, which is being considered for a demonstration of energy from waste developer Waste2Tricity's fuel cell technology.
It is anticipated that the scheme will create up to 50 permanent jobs and 500-700 jobs during its three-year construction period.
Commenting on the project, Ian Williamson, European hydrogen and bio energy director at Air Products, said: “Consultation with local stakeholders and residents about our plans is an important part of the project's development process and we will be hosting drop-in sessions for local people over the coming months to explain the need for the project, the environmental merits of using the latest technologies and also the economic benefits to Teesside.”
Support
The project has received £250,000 support from regional development agency One North East to investigate the feasibility of constructing the proposed plant at the Reclamation Pond site.
One North East chief executive, Alan Clarke, said: “We are delighted with this signal of intent from Air Products and we are committed to making sure the Tees Valley is ready to grab investment opportunities like this one. This is especially true for industries like the energy and process sectors, in which the North East already has significant strength.”
In terms of the next steps for the project, Air Products explained that a full environmental assessment and programme of public and regulatory stakeholder consultation, with stakeholders such as the Environment Agency and Natural England, will take place over the coming months.
If successful, it is anticipated that formal planning and environmental permit regulation applications will be submitted later this year.
Subscribe for free