O-Gen Plymtrek to generate heat and power from waste wood

In the UK, MITIE's asset management business, O-Gen UK and Una Group have formed a joint venture, O-Gen Plymtrek, which is developing a renewable energy centre in Plymouth.

The new facility will generate renewable heat and power from 40,000 tonnes of woody biomass a year by converting it into a gas fuel which will be combusted in a boiler and create steam.

The centre will be installed with O-Gen UK's technology throughout the duration of the 10-year contract, while MITIE's Asset Management business will operate and maintain it.

26,000MWh of electricity will be created in the process – enough to power 6,200 homes, while the heat generated will save around 10,000MWh of gas and produce 1,836 tonnes of carbon each year. CO2 emissions will be slashed by around 16,500 tonnes a year compared to grid supply.

'Generating energy from waste material is an important part of the fast-growing decentralised energy market, which provides organisations and communities with secure, locally generated power and heat for the future,' says Mike Tivey, managing director of MITIE's asset management business.

The project received a £525,000 (€603,800) grant from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWERDA) for the positive effect it will have on the local economy. Fifty jobs will become available when the joint venture breaks ground on the facility, and 23 fulltime positions will be created on its completion, which is slated for mid-2012.

'This plant represents the first of a series of combined heat and power plants currently under discussion with MITIE across the South West region,' according the David Pike, managing director of O-Gen UK.