Imperative receives consent for UK CHP plant

UK-based renewable energy company Imperative Energy will go ahead with the construction of a biomass CHP plant after it was granted planning permission from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

The £70 million (€84 million) plant, planned for Solihull in Birmingham, will use 130,000 tonnes of locally sourced waste wood to generate 17.75MWe of renewable heat and power for a number of local energy consumers. The feedstock for the plant would otherwise be sent to landfill or exported to Scandinavia for energy production.

M+W UK has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.

The facility will also a visitors' centre which will be used to educate people on the biomass supply chain, the installed technology and benefits of bioenergy in the UK's energy mix.

Commenting on the project, the company's MD Joe O'Carroll says: 'In addition to the 140 jobs during the initial 2.5 year construction phase of this energy centre, 25 new jobs will be created to operate the plant. Over the life of the plant £420 million will be spent on local goods and services.'

Imperative Energy has over 60 biomass installations across the UK and Ireland. Its major shareholder is the Northwest Fund for Energy and Environment, a fund backed by the European Investment Bank and European Regional Development Fund, and managed by 350Investment Partners.