290MW Selby biomass power station gets council go ahead
Elaine Brass
9th November 2009
A 290 megawatt (MW) biomass-fired power station, planned to be built by Drax Power, near Selby, has moved a step closer to realisation this week, after getting the unanimous backing of North Yorkshire County Council’s Planning Committee.
The Ouse Renewable Energy Plant, a £700 million development, which would sit adjacent to Drax's 4,000 MW coal-fired power station near Selby, has already been approved by Selby District Council and is now waiting final consent by the Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
After the vote, last week, the chairman of North Yorkshire County Council’s Planning Committee, Councillor Peter Sowray, commented: “I think it’s wonderful that Drax is increasing its renewable energy output.”
Drax also claim that local community support for the plans have been positive, with 90 per cent of visitors attending public exhibitions supporting the proposals and a local newspaper independent poll demonstrated 84 per cent support for the plant.
If the Ouse Renewable Energy Plant gets DECC's go ahead, construction should begin in 2010 and power generation – enough for 500,000 homes – by 2013.
Drax Power has pledged that all biomass for the plant will be sourced from sustainable sources that are independently audited and it will burn purpose grown energy crops, forestry residues, agricultural by-products as well as recovered timber and paper.
The Ouse Renewable Energy Plant is also expected to save 1,850,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions compared to the output of a conventional power station with a similar power output.
Brian Restall, project manager at Drax Power, commented: “The UK needs biomass-fired power stations to help meet the national renewable energy targets. We are extremely pleased that both the local and county planning authorities have offered such unequivocal support to Drax’s renewable energy growth strategy.”
Plans to build next to the existing Drax coal-fired plant means that infrastructure is already in place for electricity transmission, water and transport and Drax estimate that 850 construction jobs will be created and a permanent workforce of 150.
Drax Power Limited, owned by Drax Group plc, is planning two further identical biomass power stations – one in North Lincolnshire and the other yet to be disclosed – which if all go to plan should generate 1,400 MW from biomass by 2016.
Dorothy Thompson, chief executive at Drax Power, said: “Our venture into dedicated biomass-fired electricity generation underpins our commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of UK electricity production.”