Site preparation work for one of the world’s largest biomass power plants – to be built in North East England – is due to start in the next few weeks say developer MGT Power on announcing that finance for the £650m construction project is now in place.
The long-awaited Tees Renewable Energy Plant (Tees REP) that MGT Power first proposed in 2007, will generate over 600 construction jobs and about 100 full time jobs once operational in 2020. Several hundred more jobs – many locally – will also be generated in the plant’s supply chain.
Main construction work on the 299 MWe biomass-fuelled, combined heat and power (CHP) plant is due to start in a few months, with commercial operations commencing in 2020.
Biomass power
Tees REP is expected to use over 2.4 megatonnes of wood pellets and wood chips a year, brought to the site via ships arriving at the adjacent Tees Dock.
The biomass fuel will be sourced from certified sustainable forests developed by MGT and partners in North and South America, and the Baltic States.
The plant will generate enough electricity to power around 600,000 homes as well as supply heat for the site and other users nearby.
Strategically, the biomass power generated at Tees REP will help diversify the UK’s energy resources.
It will contribute 1 percent toward the larger target of generating 15 percent of the nation’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
£650m construction project
The plant, which will cost around £650m to build, will be located within the Teesport Estate near Middlesbrough.
Tecnicas Reunidas of Spain and Samsung Construction and Trading (SCT) of South Korea are contracted to construct and build the plant.
MGT Power announced in July 2015 that they were partnering with Macquarie Capital and Macquarie Commodities and Financial Markets to deliver the biomass power project.
Australian-owned Macquarie and the Danish pension fund PKA will be joint owners of MGT Teesside, who in turn will own and manage the plant.
‘High quality jobs’
MGT Teesside CEO Ben Elsworth says support from the local region – as well as the financers and other parties – “were instrumental” in helping the project get to the next stage.
Not only will the plant benefit from the Tees Dock right next to the site, but it will have good access to the National Grid, associated electrical infrastructure, and to nearby rail and road links. There is also a highly skilled local workforce and pool of contractors.
Councillor Dale Quigley, cabinet member for economic growth at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, describes the biomass power project as a “massive investment” that will bring “high quality jobs” to the borough.