CGI of the new £10m wood refinery planned for Goole, East Yorkshire.
CGI of the new £10m wood refinery planned for Goole, East Yorkshire.

Multi-million pound plans unveiled for first UK wood refinery plant in Goole

Y Pellets has unveiled plans for a new £10m renewables energy development for East Yorkshire.

A wood refinery plant, which is the first of its kind in the UK and only the second of its kind to be built in the world due to advanced patented processes, is to be built on development land at Goole 36.

Y Pellets is aiming to bring locally produced, biomass wood pellets made from UK-sourced wood to homes and businesses nationwide.

ARC Applied Sciences, which has already constructed and operates an advanced European wood fibre processing and pellet manufacturing plant in Austria, will build and operate the plant in Goole.

The new wood refinery site is anticipated to be fully operational by 2019 and will increase the Y Pellet’s European manufacturing operations.

Once construction is complete, ten new manufacturing jobs could be initially created within the first year, and additional employment will also be created within the supply chain in the short-term during the construction and development stages.

Neil Holland, director of ARC Applied Sciences and managing director of Y Pellets, said: “Our vision is to become the leading supplier of premium, high quality biomass wood pellets in the UK and Europe, and the new refinery will enable us to provide the best possible product manufactured from sustainably-sourced wood and produced by a local workforce.

“This is a massive investment for the UK’s biomass fuel market and the economy in general, both regionally and nationally. We’ve already employed the latest distribution technology delivering wood pellets to customers and by constructing the most advanced wood processing facility, we aim to grow our UK presence and continue to establish a market-leading company.

“We currently operate a 5,000 tonne storage facility close by and having looked at several other locations around the country, we felt that development land at Goole 36 offered us a total, all-round solution in terms of manufacturing, warehouse, logistics and distribution.”

Work is estimated to take 14 months to complete, with the first phase of construction due to start on-site in Spring 2018. The first wood pellet production in the UK could be as early as March 2019 and once fully operational, the plant will receive thousands of tonnes of sustainably-sourced timber per annum from the UK as production levels reach 50,000 tonnes of pellets per year.

The company has worked with the Homes & Communities Agency, investment management company, Downing’s LLP, and East Riding of Yorkshire Council over the last year in order to secure the 5.9-acre site and obtain planning permission for the UK’s first wood refinery.

The land earmarked for development is close to Y Pellets’ existing storage facility and will make it one of the largest commercial enterprises situated within the industrial zone.

Jake Berry MP, Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, commented: “I am delighted by Y Pellets’ decision to invest on the Enterprise Zone site in Goole.

“This is another example of how the Northern Powerhouse is becoming a much sought after destination for investment and this is positive news for the northern and UK economies.

“Y Pellets’ new processing plant is an important boost not only to the local economy but to the region and the country and demonstrates that we have the right skills, transport infrastructure, workforce and supply chains on a regional level to help grow their business in a national and international marketplace.”

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