The UK government has given consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act to M ...

The UK government has given consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act to MGT Power’s planned £500mn Tees renewable energy plant - claimed to be one of the largest ever biomass plants to be built in the world and one of the largest of all renewable energy projects. The 295-MW plant, which will enter commercial operation in 2012, will save 1.2mn t/y of carbon dioxide and will generate enough electricity for 600,000 homes in the north-east of England. The project will also create 600 new jobs during the three-year construction period and 150 permanent jobs during the station’s lifetime. MGT Power is being advised by Shadbolt on the construction aspects of this project, led by partners Daniel Tain and Roger Button. Welcoming the government’s decision, Daniel said: ‘This is a benchmark project for the UK renewables energy market, accounting for 5.5% of the UK’s renewable electricity target.’ Chris Moore, Director of MGT Power, commented: ‘Other similarly sized biomass plants are proposed in other parts of the country, but our Teesport project is currently two years ahead of the pack and likely to be one of the first to be operational. It comes at a time when replacement UK energy generation capacity is urgently needed.’