Peel gets green light at Protos
Councillors granted full planning permission for Peel Environmental’s proposed £7m plastic recycling plant, the latest scheme at its renewable energy park near Ellesmere Port.
The unanimous decision by Cheshire West and Chester Council paves the way for construction to start on the project, which is to occupy a 2.5-acre site on the 133-acre Protos park.
The facility will produce hydrogen from non-recyclable plastics, through a joint venture between Peel Environmental, part of Peel L&P, and Waste2Tricity, an energy provider that specialises in converting waste into fuel.
The plant would be made up of four main buildings: a 4,700 sq ft waste reception, 4,000 sq ft gasification building, a 2,100 sq ft storage and maintenance unit and a 440 sq ft amenity building.
The aim is to produce up to two tonnes of hydrogen per day from 35 tonnes of plastic, the equivalent of 18,000 HGV miles, the developer says.
The facility would also generate electricity that would be provided to commercial users via a microgrid at Protos, helping to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It will be the first plant in the UK to use ‘distributed modular generation’ technology, a way of distributing hydrogen generation that has been developed at Thornton Science Park, adjacent to the Protos site.
Peel Environmental and Waste2Tricity submitted the application in September 2019. Axis PED drew up plans for the project and RSK provided technical support.
Myles Kitcher, managing director at Peel Environmental, said: “The creation of this UK-first facility makes great strides to solve two important issues; the huge amount of waste plastic produced, and the over-reliance on fossil fuels for energy. T
“The technology has been proven at Thornton and will now be commercialised at Protos, before being rolled out across the UK. This is hugely significant for Cheshire and the wider region, demonstrating how we’re rising to the challenge of being the UK’s first low carbon industrial cluster and setting a standard for others to follow.”
