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Biomass power plant to create green jobs

A renewable energy firm has announced it is looking to invest around £200m in a major biomass power station in the Tees Valley.

Gaia Power Limited, based in Yarm, has brought together a team of industry professionals with a proven track record of developing, financing and implementing large scale renewable energy projects.

The company will create 50 permanent jobs during operation, along with 50 supply-chain positions. The plant will also create about 400 jobs during construction if Stockton Borough Council approves plans for the wood-fired plant on the site of a former power station at the Billingham Reach Industrial Estate.

The fuel for the station would comprise around 275,000 tonnes of recycled wood a year in chipped form. The plant will be designed to provide power to the electricity system at a rate of 45MW - and so will produce enough in a year to supply over 80,000 homes.

Michael Fox, Gaia Power founder and chairman, said: “It is a very exciting development and one which will help to cement the Tees Valley’s growing reputation for green energy development.” The wood for the Gaia plant would be collected, sorted and shredded off site by a specialist renewable wood recycler under a long term agreement.

Neil Kenley, strategic investment and marketing director for Tees Valley Regeneration, said: “We along with Stockton Borough Council have been working with Gaia Power for some time now and are delighted they have decided to bring the green energy plant and the massive investment and vital jobs that go with it to the Tees Valley.

“This is exactly the type of business we work so hard to attract to the area and the fact that Gaia Power will be established here adds more credence to the fact that the Tees Valley is becoming a hub for new energy companies.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .