Energy secretary John Hutton has today approved the building of a 350MW wood chip fuelled electricity generating plant in Port Talbot, Wales. Completed by 2010, the £400m plant from developer Prenergy will contribute nearly three quarters of the Welsh Assembly's 2010 renewable electricity target. And with biomass generation it will be able to produce continuous, base-load electricity for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year over the quarter of a century of its predicted lifecycle.
"This will be the biggest biomass plant in the world, generating enough clean electricity to power half of the homes in Wales," beamed Hutton. "It joins eight major renewables projects already given the green light in the past 12 months alone and is another important step towards the low carbon economy envisaged by the Prime Minister", bowing reverently as backed out of Mr Brown’s presence.
The wood fuel is expected to come from sustainable sources in the US and Canada, though some might argue the carbon footprint of local-sourced wood might leave a smaller indent.
The Port Talbot plant is the latest in a series of renewable consents cleared by ministers at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Six offshore wind farms have been given the go-ahead, alongside an onshore wind farm in Devon and the Wave Hub marine energy project, which will be sited off the coast of North Cornwall.
Other renewable projects consented in the last 12 months are:
- Walney (450MW)
- Ormonde (90MW)
- Thanet (300MW)
- Greater Gabbard (500MW)
- London Array (1GW)
- Teesside (90MW)
- Fullabrook Down, Devon (66MW)
- Wave Hub (20MW)
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