'Volcano' design celebrates new age of power generation
Elaine Brass
30th December 2009
A power station, shaped like a volcano and covered in indigenous grasses, has been put forward in plans for a £150 million biomass plant on the River Tees.
Bio Energy Investments Ltd (BEI) has submitted plans for a 49 megawatt (MW) biomass fuelled power station – BEI Teesside – to be built in Stockton on Tees on industrial land that has lain unused for the last 50 years.
London-based Heatherwick Studio has designed the plans for the building, which the company describes as reflecting “the scale and spirit of the Tees Valley Regeneration”. The structure of the building is made up of panels planted with indigenous grasses, intended to reflect the green purpose of the building while blending into the surrounding, natural grassland. As well as a biomass station, the structure will also contain offices, a visitors’ centre and a renewable energy education resource centre.
Commenting on the design, Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio, said: “Over recent decades we have neglected the cultural contribution industrial infrastructure can make to our society. Power generation is now one of the most hotly debated aspects of our political futures. With growing urbanisation and more power stations being built at a local level, we need to find new ways to incorporate these buildings into our lives and make them of benefit to society.
“Britain has a heritage of building amazing power station buildings. Bankside and Battersea weren’t just boxes to house machinery – they had a richness of material and scale that celebrated power generation. Now, with the impetus of alternative energy production we have an opportunity to make new power buildings updated to fit this age. It is exciting to be working with BEI to redefine this type of building and celebrate energy production again.”
The plant, which will be powered by palm kernel shells, by-products of palm oil plantations, delivered by ship, should provide enough power for 50,000 homes. The plant will use a combustion/steam cycle technology requiring 400,000 dry tonnes of fuel per year.
Matthew Day, project director for the development said: “Iconic in stature, this building is sure to become an exemplar of modern power station design; a local landmark, and also a national symbol of Britain’s strategy for renewable energy.”