BioGen Power commits £600m towards energy from waste plants

Lancashire-based BioGen Power is committing about £600m over the next five years towards building 12 energy from waste plants, to help combat the UK's increasing waste problems.

Having recently received consent for its first plant in Irvine, North Ayrshire, the company expects to submit a further three planning applications before the end of the year and is looking to acquire more sites.

Christian Reeve, CEO of BioGen Power, said: "Primarily, we're searching for sites with B1 and B8 uses in or close to industrial areas.

"Obviously, these sites need to be in areas that comply with local planning policy and are thus likely to achieve planning consent, but we will consider both brownfield and greenfield areas as well as sites with existing buildings of around 30,000 sq ft, providing they have a minimum site area of three acres."

As landfill sites reach capacity, BioGen Power is looking for locations where there is a market for disposing of municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial waste.

Reeve added: "We're not looking for huge slabs of land, just areas of around four to six acres that have the ability to be connected to the local electricity grid network and good road access. Because of their green credentials and low profile they are more acceptable from a public perspective so can be integrated into industrial urban areas much easier."

The technology used by BioGen Power means local homes and businesses can benefit from renewable energy with extra electricity generated being sold to the national grid.

Emissions from a BioGen Power plant are considered significantly lower than those permitted under the EU's Waste Incineration Directive.

A typical BioGen Power energy from waste plant will dispose of around 120,000 tonnes of waste per year, exporting approximately 9MWe of renewable electricity, allowing up to 15,000 homes and local businesses to benefit from the process.

Plants of this kind have been very popular in places like Norway and Germany over the past 10 years.