News: £160m Rotherham biomass plant sold

In one of the borough's largest investment transactions, the £160m Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in Rotherham has been acquired, just months after first generating electricity for the National Grid.

Greencoat Capital has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Ltd from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

Greencoat Capital is one of the UK's largest investors in the resource efficiency and renewable energy market, with more than £4 billion under management. The investment is being made on behalf of a number of Greencoat Capital's pension fund clients, and represents the company's first move into bioenergy assets.

Built on disused land at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works, the plant generates clean, green energy using waste wood, exporting just over 41MW of green electricity which is enough to supply 78,000 homes (around half the population of Rotherham) and save over 150,000 tons of CO2 every year.

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Development and construction of the asset was financed by CIP through its CI-II fund, successfully stewarding the project from planning stages in 2015 to commercial operations in 2019.

Minal Patel, partner at Greencoat Capital, said: "We are proud to have made our first bioenergy investment, and delighted with the asset that CIP has developed. Greencoat has demonstrated sector leading performance with both its wind and solar strategies, and we look forward to replicating that in the bioenergy sector where we see a significant pipeline of investment opportunities."

Christina Sørensen, senior partner at CIP, added: "We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Greencoat to divest our 100% stake in TBPP. CI-II acquired the project in 2015, financed its construction, and successfully reached commercial operations in February 2019. Since then the plant has been steadily generating renewable power from locally sourced waste wood. We would like to congratulate the new owners on the successful acquisition of a great project."

Rothschild & Co and Mirae Asset Daewoo Co., Ltd. acted as financial advisers to CIP, while Evercore, Poyry and Eco2 advised Greencoat.

Templeborough Biomass website

Images: Templeborough Biomass

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News: GDF Suez in Rotherham biomass deal

Business energy specialist GDF SUEZ Energy UK has finalised an agreement to purchase all of the power generated at the proposed biomass-fired power plant project in Rotherham.

The Brite Partnership secured planning permission in 2010 for a biomass development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works at Templeborough where land and disused buildings where purchased in March 2011. The plant will generate heat and power from carbon-neutral renewable wood pellet fuel.

Last month it was announced that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CI) had acquired 100% of the project for £150m and has now created Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Limited to take the development forward.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) is one of two (the other at Snetterton in Norfolk) awarded to GDF SUEZ Energy UK, a dedicated business-to-business energy company in the UK that specialises in supplying energy to the industrial and commercial sector. Based in Leeds, it is a subsidiary of French energy giant, GDF Suez.

Expected to be commissioned in March 2017, the 39.3MW Rotherham plant will burn waste wood to generate 315GWh of electricity each year – all of which will be purchased by GDF SUEZ Energy UK.

Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, the Danish subsidiary of the giant US Babcock & Wilcox Company, will design, manufacture and operate the plant, with Interserve responsible for its construction.

Although prices have not been disclosed, the 15 year deals will see GDF SUEZ Energy UK buy the output at an index-linked rate, providing a market-reflective price for every kWh of electricity generated. To provide an assured return on investment, the PPAs also include a floor price, guaranteeing a minimum rate for the output.

PPAs are essential to the viability of any new renewable energy plant. Funders of these major infrastructure projects need concrete assurances that the money they invest will be repaid through the sale of energy to a reliable, experienced and credit-worthy offtaker.

GDF SUEZ Energy UK has built up a strong reputation as a leading player in the power purchasing arena, having secured agreements with several major renewable energy plants in recent years.

Paul Roberts, head of local portfolio management at GDF SUEZ Energy UK, said: "These new agreements are the first PPAs we have secured for biomass plants, having previously focused on wind power and energy-from-waste technologies. It demonstrates the flexibility of our PPAs, which present an attractive and secure proposition for any type of renewable energy plant."

Rúni Bro Róin, senior partner at CI, added: "We're pleased to have found the basis for cooperation with a strong and reputable partner like GDF SUEZ, which will be the sole purchaser of energy from both Snetterton and Templeborough."

GDF SUEZ Energy UK will also purchase all ROC and LEC certificates received by the two plants, which will help the energy supplier to meet its own sustainable sourcing commitments under the government's Renewables Obligation.

Images: Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S

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News: £150m from Danish investors fuels Rotherham biomass development

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has acquired 100% of the Brite Partnerhsip's biomass-fired power plant project in Rotherham, enabling contractors to be confirmed for the construction and operation.

The Brite Partnership secured planning permission in 2010 for a biomass development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works at Templeborough where land and disused buildings where purchased in March 2011. The plant will generate heat and power from carbon-neutral renewable wood pellet fuel.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) is a management company specialising in infrastructure investments and mergers & acquisitions. The Rotherham deal has been concluded on behalf of the Copenhagen Infrastructure II fund, an investment amounting to DKK 1.6 bn (£150m).

Christian T. Skakkebæk, senior partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, said: "The Brite project is an attractive investment opportunity for CIP in a country with a well-established and stable regulatory regime. It fits very well with our strategy of developing projects benefitting from long-term contracts with strong industrial partners in order to deliver stable returns for our investors."

A joint venture between Interserve, the international support services and construction group, and Babcock & Wilcox Vølund has been awarded the contracts to work on the project.

Following a financial review of the project, the plans for wood pellet manufacturing capability has been increased from 200,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 350,000 tpa as a result of increased demand from potential customers in the coal-fired power generation sector. Plans for a liquid biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant were removed as they are no longer financially viable so the capacity of the planned biomass CHP plant on the site has been increased.

Burning recycled waste wood will produce steam used to generate about 44.1MWe, the majority of which will feed into the National Grid. The output is greater than E-On's 30MWe plant at nearby Blackburn Meadows.

Timber pre-treatment activities will be undertaken on land on the Shenker rail sidings site with a conveyor system set to take the wood pellets over Sheffield Road to the CHP plant on the Firth Rixson site.

The timber debarking and chipping plant on the Shenker site will require 40 full-time staff, in addition to the further 100 required on the Firth Rixson site.

Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, the Danish subsidiary of the giant US Babcock & Wilcox Company, will design, manufacture and operate the biomass power plant. Interserve will construct the plant. Stobbart Group previously announced that it has signed a major contract that will see them supply and transport 5.2 million tonnes of waste wood to the Templeborough plant over the 20 year contract, which starts in 2017.

Paul Scavuzzo, senior vice president and general manager, Global Power Division at Babcock & Wilcox, said: "We greatly appreciate the confidence Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has shown in B&W and this consortium and look forward to executing this project.

"The market for biomass power and waste-to-energy technologies in Europe continues to be strong, and B&W is well-positioned to meet the demand for reliable, clean energy solutions."

Andy Jarman, commercial director at Interserve, added: "The waste sector is a key growth area for Interserve. We recognise that projects of this type are highly technical and challenging, requiring key expertise to construct, operate and maintain. This is why we have formed a strategic partnership with Babcock & Wilcox Vølund who will operate and maintain the Brite plant from 2017."

The Brite Partnership was formed with the sole purpose of developing projects for the production of green energy, and operating them as a viable and sustainable business. With Rotherham as its first project, it expects to expand in the coming years with similar projects throughout the country.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners website
Interserve website
Babcock & Wilson website

Images: CIP

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News: Rotherham biomass plant nears financial close

A multimillion pound project in Rotherham is set to generate an environmentally friendly form of energy and 140 new jobs by 2017.

Operators, the Brite Partnership, secured planning permission in 2010 for a biomass development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works at Templeborough where land and disused buildings where purchased in March 2011. The plant that will generate heat and power from carbon-neutral renewable wood pellet fuel.

Following a financial review of the project, the plans for wood pellet manufacturing capability has been increased from 200,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 350,000 tpa as a result of increased demand from potential customers in the coal-fired power generation sector. Plans for a liquid biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant were removed as they are no longer financially viable so the capacity of the planned biomass CHP plant on the site has been increased.

Burning recycled waste wood will produce steam used to generate about 44.1MWe, the majority of which will feed into the National Grid. The output is greater than E-On's 30MWe plant at nearby Blackburn Meadows.

Timber pre-treatment activities will be undertaken on land on the Shenker rail sidings site with a conveyor system set to take the wood pellets over Sheffield Road to the CHP plant on the Firth Rixson site.

The timber debarking and chipping plant on the Shenker site will require 40 full-time staff, in addition to the further 100 required on the Firth Rixson site.

Infrastructure and support services business, Stobbart Group, has announced that it has signed a major biomass supply contract that will see them supply and transport 5.2 million tonnes of waste wood to the Templeborough plant over the term of the contract, which starts in 2017.

The index-linked contract will see Stobart transport 260,000 tonnes per annum over the next 20 years.

The Brite Partnership was formed with the sole purpose of developing projects for the production of green energy, and operating them as a viable and sustainable business. Brite has said that it has the support of the UK Government's Green Investment Bank for the Rotherham project and has selected a contractor for the build. The partnership expects to expand in the coming years with similar projects throughout the country.

The Rotherham project has secured environmental permits and numerous planning permissions throughout the process as operational requirements changed. Full planning permission was secured last year and it is expected that the project will achieve financial close in the next two weeks.

Financial close occurs when all the project and financing agreements have been signed and all the required conditions contained in them have been met. It enables funds (e.g. loans, equity, grants) to start flowing so that project implementation can actually start.

Images: Brite Partnership

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News: Biomass plant plans passed

An environmentally friendly form of energy and 140 new jobs are set to be generated in Rotherham after a planning application was approved for a biomass development in Templeborough.

Operators, the Brite Partnership, secured planning permission in 2010 for the development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works where land and disused buildings where purchased in March 2011. Now, revised plans have been granted permission for a plant that will generate heat and power from carbon-neutral renewable wood pellet fuel.

Following a financial review of the project, the plans for wood pellet manufacturing capability has been increased from 200,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 350,000 tpa as a result of increased demand from potential customers in the coal-fired power generation sector. Plans for a liquid biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant were removed as they are no longer financially viable so the capacity of the planned biomass CHP plant on the site has been increased.

The biomass CHP plant will have the ability to generate sufficient renewable electricity to power approximately 40% of the households in Rotherham. The plant is set generate 34MWth of thermal energy to the pellet manufacturing process, and 31MWe of renewable electricity, with around 29.2MWe of renewable electricity available for distribution to the grid. Applicants estimate that the development will save as much as 15.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions that would have been emitted from traditional fossil fuel power stations.

Timber pre-treatment activities will be undertaken on land on the Shenker rail sidings site with a conveyor system set to take the wood pellets over Sheffield Road to the CHP plant on the Firth Rixson site.

The timber debarking and chipping plant on the Shenker site will require 40 full-time staff, in addition to the further 100 required on the Firth Rixson site.

Objections were submitted from occupants of surrounding industrial premises, raising concerns of dust from the timber processing plant and emissions from the CHP plant. Planners were satisfied with studies in to air quality that predicted that, in a worst case scenario, there would be a small increase in ground-level concentration of pollutants as a result of the operation of the biomass CHP plant.

The planner's report concluded: "Although the proposed facility could lead to a small increase in ground-level concentrations of some pollutants within local areas, it is not considered that the development would have an unacceptable effect on air quality. Furthermore it is considered that the development would have environmental benefits in terms of the reduced need for conventional power generation and the reduced greenhouse gas emissions associated with the disposal of waste by landfill."

The plans were approved by the planning board at Rotherham Council subject to a number of conditions. In addition to a number of mitigation measures, conditions include financial contributions to highway works and improvements to the nearby Centenary Riverside urban wetland nature park.

Brite has the support of the UK Government's Green Investment Bank for the Rotherham project and has selected a contractor for the build. The partnership expects to expand in the coming years with similar projects throughout the country.

Brite Partnership website

Images: Brite Partnership

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News: Revised plans for Rotherham biomass energy development

Plans for a biomass energy development which would create 140 jobs at Templeborough in Rotherham are moving forward again.

Operators, the Brite Partnership, secured planning permission in 2010 for the development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works where land and disused buildings where purchased in March 2011.

Following a financial review of the project, revised plans have now been submitted showing that wood pellet manufacturing capability has been increased from 200,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 350,000 tpa as a result of increased demand from potential customers in the coal-fired power generation sector. Plans for a liquid biomass CHP plant have been removed as they are no longer financially viable so the capacity of the planned biomass CHP plant on the site has been increased.

Generating heat and power from carbon-neutral renewable wood pellet fuel, the development is estimated to save as much as 15.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions that would have been emitted from traditional fossil fuel power stations. If approved, the plant would generate 34MWth of thermal energy to the pellet manufacturing process, and 35MWe of renewable electricity, with around 20MWe of renewable electricity available for distribution to the grid.

The original intention was to locate the timber debarking and chipping plant, required to prepare the feedstocks for the wood pellet manufacturing process, on the former Council Depot site on Greasborough Road. The new plans show that the timber pre-treatment activities will now be undertaken on land directly across Sheffield Road on the Shenker rail sidings site.

The plans state that: "The Biomass Energy Development in the Templeborough area will introduce a new manufacturing industry to Rotherham and the surrounding area, and create new employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector.

"Once operational it is expected that the timber debarking and chipping plant on the Shenker site will require 40 full-time staff, in addition to the further 100 required on the Firth Rixson site."

The plans include a 3,680 sq m development for the wood pellet manufacturing plant and a 4,898 sq m development for the Solid Biomass CHP Plant. Plans also include additional flood protection measures. Around 5,000 sq m of buildings are planned for the Shenker site.

The Brite Partnership was formed with the sole purpose of developing projects for the production of green energy, and operating them as a viable and sustainable business.

Partners have in excess of eighty five years of experience between them in the construction industry and that other members of the team have extensive experience of the development of biomass combustion projects, with similar projects in other parts of the UK and Europe.

The Rotherham project is seen as the cornerstone of the renewable energy business which the partnership expects to expand on in the coming years throughout the country. Brite has the support of the UK Government's Green Investment Bank for the first project.

Brite Partnership website

Images: Brite Partnership

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News: Progress for Templeborough biomass energy development

Plans for a biomass energy development at Templeborough in Rotherham are moving forward with plans submitted for a timber processing plant nearby.

Full planning permission was granted in 2010 for the development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works where land and disused buildings where purchased in March 2011.

The planned 2.6 hectare development incorporates two biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants with a combined generating capacity of about 31 MWe. It could create 100 jobs.

Operators, the Brite Partnership, are now in discussions to buy Rotherham Council's Greasborough Road depot with plans to use it as a timber debarking and chipping plant.

The proposal is to demolish the existing buildings on the site, and to replace them with a new purpose-designed building to house the process equipment plus a building used for storage. It will have a capacity of 525,000 tonnes of wood chipping each year and will create 350,000 tonnes for the Templeborough facility.

Plans state that 40 operational staff could be employed on the Greasborough Road site.

The Brite Partnership, was formed with the sole purpose of developing projects for the production of green energy, and operating them as a viable and sustainable business.

Plans state that partners have in excess of eighty five years of experience between them in the construction industry and that other members of the team have extensive experience of the development of biomass combustion projects, with similar projects in other parts of the UK and Europe.

The Rotherham project is seen as the cornerstone of the renewable energy business which the partnership expects to expand on in the coming years throughout the country.

E.ON recently announced construction plans for biomass energy plant at Blackburn Meadows in Sheffield. The £120m renewable energy plant will be set near the site of the old Tinsley Towers, adjacent to Meadowhall, and when operational will generate up to 30MW.

Brite Partnership website

Images: Brite Partnership / IESIL

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News: Biomass Energy Development planned for Rotherham

A planning application has been submitted for a Biomass Energy Development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works in Templeborough, Rotherham that could create over 100 jobs.

The planned 2.6 hectare development incorporates two biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants, two chimney stacks and a 200,000 tonne per annum wood pellet manufacturing process.

It would manufacture timber wood pellets for supply to the utility power sector and the biomass CHP plants would have a combined generating capacity of about 31 MWe.

Surplus renewable electricity, sufficient to power about two thirds of the homes in Rotherham, will be exported to the local distribution network. This could offset about 250,000 tonne per annum of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning.

The plans have been drawn up by the Brite Partnership, a company formed with the sole purpose of developing projects for the production of green energy, and operating them as a viable and sustainable business.

The plans state that partners have in excess of eighty five years of experience between them in the construction industry and that other members of the team have extensive experience of the development of biomass combustion projects, with similar projects in other parts of the UK and Europe.

The concept is by Integrated Energy Systems International Ltd (IESIL) and the Rotherham project is seen as the cornerstone of the renewable energy business which Brite Partnership expects to expand on in the coming years throughout the country.

The development site is currently unoccupied due to the contraction of metalworking activities by Firth Rixson. Some disused buildings are to be demolished and three new purpose-designed buildings of 6070 sq m would be erected.

Regarding local employment potential the application states that: "The estimated workforce expected during the construction phase of the Biomass Energy Development is on average about 200, peaking at about 260 during the first quarter of the second year of the construction phase.

"Once operational it is expected that the Biomass Energy Development will require 100 full-time staff ... as well as about another 50 in the industrial and service sectors to support the operation of the facility."

Images: Brite Partnership / IESIL

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