Planning Application for Tees Valley Renewable Energy Facility

Air Products has submitted its planning application to Stockton Borough Council for its proposed Tees Valley Renewable Energy Facility at the New Energy and Technology Business Park in Teesside, UK.

The project will use advanced gasification technology to convert pre-processed household and commercial waste currently going to landfill into baseload, renewable power for up to 50,000 homes in the North East. By diverting waste from landfill the proposed plant will offer an environmentally-friendly solution for the production of renewable energy in the North East. The plant also has the potential to generate renewable hydrogen for mobile and stationary energy applications and is being considered for a demonstration of fuel cell technology.

Submitting this planning application follows more than 12 months of technical and environmental studies, along with detailed design and engineering work. Air Products has also consulted with local area organisations and people living in the area by hosting two public exhibitions, presenting at various meetings and distributing more than 7,500 information leaflets about the project to them.

Supported by the regional development agency One North East via the Tees Valley Industrial Programme, the project has also been welcomed by a number of other local organisations including NEPIC, the North East Chamber of Commerce, Renew@CPI and Tees Valley Unlimited.

If approvals for the proposed project are given - which also include an environmental permitting consent from the Environment Agency - work on the project could start by the end of this year, and enter commercial operation in 2014.

Ian Williamson, European Hydrogen and Bioenergy Director at Air Products said: “Diverting waste from landfill to generate power for homes and businesses makes sense. The proposed 49MW Tees Valley Renewable Energy Facility will use the very latest technology to generate power for the region and at the same it will help meet Stockton’s environment, energy and economic investment objectives.

“If we successfully secure permission for the facility, Air Products will be looking to work with local firms in its construction and operation. We’re already working closely with the site’s owners, Impetus Waste Management, and have just brought Foster Wheeler’s Stockton office on board to support us for engineering design, so we know what expertise local companies can bring. In total, we expect this whole project will create up to 50 direct permanent jobs, between 500 and 700 jobs during the construction phase plus it will lead to many other indirect jobs.”