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.

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News: Rotherham power plant inaugurated by HRH The Duke of York

The £160m Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in Rotherham has been officially inaugurated by His Royal Highness The Duke of York, KG.

The power plant first generated electricity to the national grid at the end of last summer, 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.

Built on disused land at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works, the plant generates clean, green energy using waste wood. The project has created the equivalent of more than 250 full time jobs during the construction phase and 30 jobs have been permanently established on site to operate the plant for its lifetime of more than 20 years.

Templeborough Biomass is fully owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure II (CI II), a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. CI II has invested approximately £160m equity in Templeborough Biomass, which has no third-party debt.

Christina Grumstrup Sørensen, senior partner of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, said: "We are very proud to formally inaugurate our plant and to have His Royal Highness The Duke of York visit to make the day extra special. We were delighted to be able to discuss with him the benefits of renewable energy in the fight against climate change."

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Tim Forrest, managing director of CI Biomass, added: "It has been a pleasure to celebrate the day with the project partners and reflect on the great work that has brought us to this point. We are now looking forward to many successful years of working with the local community here in Rotherham and generating clean, green energy for homes across South Yorkshire."

Cllr. Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council, added: "We are delighted to have such a significant project open and generating renewable energy in our community. The benefits will bring the introduction of new, high tech, long term employment, recognising the immense skill base of our local people. Our region has so much to offer and we are delighted that the visit of His Royal Highness The Duke of York will bring international recognition to our project."

The power plant was built by a consortium of Birmingham-based Interserve Construction Ltd. and Babcock & Wilcox Vølund from Denmark. The waste wood fuel is sourced and processed by Stobart Biomass Products Ltd., a subsidiary of the Stobart Group.

The Duke went on to officially open the £10.5m University Centre Rotherham.

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News: Rotherham biomass plant powers up

The £160m Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in Rotherham successfully commenced commercial operations last week.

After a period of testing, contractor Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. turned over operations to the customer, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

The plant will use wood fuel to generate 42 megawatts of green electricity to supply power to approximately 78,000 homes. B&W Vølund also will provide operations and maintenance services for the plant under a 15-year agreement.

Templeborough Biomass is fully owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure II (CI II), a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. CI II has invested approximately £160m equity in Templeborough Biomass, which has no third-party debt.

Built on disused land at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works, the plant capacity will be sufficient to offset 150,000 tons of CO2 per year. The project has created the equivalent of more than 250 full time jobs during the construction phase and 26 jobs will permanently be established on site to operate the plant for its lifetime of more than 20 years.

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Christina Grumstrup Sørensen, senior partner at CIP, said: "We are pleased to have achieved commercial operations, which is an important milestone. Construction was more challenging than expected however, we have always had a good cooperation with our EPC-contractors, advisors, authorities and the local community.

"They have all contributed to the successful completion of the project. We are delighted to see renewable power being generated based on locally sourced waste wood, and we look forward to a continued good cooperation with our project partners and the local community in the operations phase."

Jimmy Morgan, senior vice president of B&W, said: "We are extremely pleased to provide Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners with industry leading, efficient and reliable biomass-to-energy technology that will provide needed power for the region and help to meet the UK's objectives for renewable energy generation."

Tim Forrest, managing director at the Templeborough Biomass Power Plant, said: "I could not be more pleased to see the Templeborough project reach this important milestone. I would like to thank all involved for the dedication they have shown in getting here, and I look forward to a successful ongoing partnership with the Babcock & Wilcox Vølund operations team at this site."

Rothbiz reported in October on plans for the Rotherham District Heating Network (RDHN) project which aims to harness the heat from the biomass plant and provide Rotherham town centre and key industrial energy-using areas of Rotherham with a low cost renewable choice for their heat source.

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News: New Rotherham district heating network in the pipeline

With the Templeborough Biomass Power Plant now generating clean, green electricity, plans are being put in place to harness the heat from the £150m development.

The Rotherham District Heating Network (RDHN) project aims to provide Rotherham town centre and key industrial energy-using areas of Rotherham with a low cost renewable choice for their heat source. It will take heat from the power plant, which uses renewable waste wood fuels as its energy source, to supply heating to public and private sector commercial, industrial and residential applications.

Consultants, Green Directions, has developed a proposal for the heat network and the project has a budget of over £16m based on a detailed engineering study commissioned from Atkins. The project has applied to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for part of the funding.

Now a planning application has been submitted by Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Ltd for an energy centre beside the power plant, which was built on disused land at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works, which would ensure an interrupted supply of hot water to the heating network.

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The 4,000 sq ft building will house three gas boilers with three flues. It could accommodate an additional two boilers if the project expands.

A concurrent planning application has also been submitted for the Rotherham District Heating Network - the distribution system of insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source and delivers it to a number of domestic or non-domestic buildings.

The plans, drawn up by Wardell Armstrong, show the pipes starting at Templeborough with a "West Network" that will go south west to the industrial areas of the Brinsworth Stripmill and the Steelphalt sites and an "East Network" that will go north east to the south-western part of Rotherham town centre.

Passing the AESSEAL New York Stadium, the pipeline could serve Rotherham Council's Riverside House, properties on the High Street, University Centre Rotherham, Clifton Park, the Markets and Rotherham Leisure Complex.

Heat networks form an important part of the Government's plan to reduce carbon and cut heating bills for customers.

The Templeborough Biomass Power Plant is expected to generate around 41MW of green electricity which is enough to supply 78,000 homes and save over 150,000 tons of CO2 every year.

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News: Construction phase complete at new Rotherham power plant

Lead contractor, Interserve, has completed the construction phase of the Templeborough Biomass Power Plant. Commissioning is underway and operators are planning to start generating clean, green electricity by the summer.

Construction began on the project in 2015. The Brite Partnership secured planning permission in 2010 for the 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.

Also in 2015 it was announced that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CI) had acquired 100% of the project for £150m and created Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Limited to take the development forward.

The wood reception and handling facilities are complete, this is where the wood fuel arrives as wood chips. The wood storage building is fully enclosed and the fuel cranes that will mix the wood and place it on the conveyor ready to go to the boiler are in place.

Stobart Biomass Products signed a 20 year contract to supply waste wood to the plant. It has taken on a former Rotherham Council depot to create a storage and processing plant.

The first supply of wood was received in January which was used to test and commission the cranes, making sure they are ready for use.

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At the weir on the River Don, a fish pass has been completed. For the first time in 150 years salmon have been seen as far up the river as Doncaster, and with the Templeborough weir pass completed there is only one more needed at Forge Island, and the Salmon will be able to return to their spawning grounds.

Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, the Danish subsidiary of the giant US Babcock & Wilcox Company, designed and manufactured the plant and will also be responsible for its operation.

With the operations and maintenance team in place, commissioning is taking place in two parts - cold and then hot commissioning. Tubes, pipes, fans and conveyors have already been tested.

Hot commissioning involves steam blowing to ensure all the debris, dust and any other small contaminants from the construction of the boiler and all the pipe work have been cleaned out. This makes sure that the turbine will work safely and efficiently when operation begins.

Starting at the end of March, steam blows involve starting up the boiler, building up steam pressure and temperature in the pipe system before releasing the pressure via a temporary steam blow pipe, sending a plume of steam in the sky.

The plant is expected to generate first power to the grid by the end of April.

In an update, the operators said: "During this whole period, we will have carried out all the required tests to ensure the power generated is safe and reliable, then we can start generating electricity and sending it to the national grid for use in homes and businesses across the region in full commercial operation by the end of Summer 2018."

Whilst generating power, the plant also generates heat and discussions are underway over a network to serve parts of the borough.

A spokesperson for the company added: "We are currently working with the local council to look at the feasibility of building a local heat network to supply local communities with a renewable source of heat which could compete with their existing gas or electricity supplier."

Consultants, Green Directions has developed a proposal for a £16m heat network to serve the centre of Rotherham and major businesses including Liberty Steel and Steelphalt.

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News: Property deal for Rotherham biomass plant

A former Rotherham Council depot has been acquired for £3.4m, a year after it was taken on by Stobart Biomass Products.

The subsidiary of the Stobart Group created a waste wood processing plant at the Greasbrough Road depot after it signed a 20 year contract to supply waste wood to the nearby renewable energy plant at Templeborough.

LXi REIT plc, an investor in UK commercial property assets, has now acquired the freehold interest in the Stobart biomass storage and processing plant in a sale and leaseback transaction.

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Stobart has a new 20-year lease in place and with the purchase price for the property at £3.4m, this reflects a net initial yield of 6.2%.

The acquisition is being funded using the proceeds of the LXi REIT's new 11.5-year loan facility secured from Scottish Widows in December 2017 at a fixed rate of 2.85% per annum.

John White, partner of LXi REIT Advisors Limited, said: "We are pleased to have acquired, off-market, the Stobart biomass storage and processing facility, which provides the Company with an attractive net initial yield and secure, long-dated, inflation-linked income stream. The property is underpinned by a strong industrial location and residual value and further diversifies the Company's tenant and sector exposure."

Planning permission for Stobart's site states that it is permitted to accept a maximum of 150,000 tonnes of waste per year and operators will use dust control and mitigation measures regarding the storage and processing of materials where shredders will be capable of processing between 40 – 80 tonnes of mixed wood per hour.

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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.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CI) acquired 100% of the project for £150m and created Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Limited to take the development forward.

Set to generate 41MW of energy, more than the nearby biomass plant at Blackburn Meadows, the plant requires 40 lorry loads of waste wood chip every day to generate the amount of power it is hoping to achieve.

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News: Biomass wood plan for depot site

A former Rotherham Council depot is set to play a key role in powering the renewable energy plant at Templeborough that is set to open in August 2017.

The biomass-fired power plant will need an estimated 260,000 tonnes of locally generated waste wood per year and providers, Stobart Biomass Products is progressing plans to create a waste wood processing plant at the former council depot of Greasbrough Road.

Construction began on the £150m biomass project in 2015. The development at the Firth Rixson Ickles Works will generate heat and power from carbon-neutral renewable wood pellet fuel. It will generate around 41MW of green electricity every year - enough to supply 78,000 homes and save over 150,000 tons of CO2.

Stobart Biomass Products Ltd., a subsidiary of the Stobart Group, who also part own the Eddie Stobart logistics company, is supplying the waste wood having signed a 20 year contract.

The plant requires 40 lorry loads of waste wood chip every day to generate the amount of power it is hoping to achieve. On average every person in the UK generates approximately 100kg of waste wood products per year, so the Yorkshire and Humber region alone generates over twice the amount of waste wood that is required by the plant.

Rotherham Council has had the North Drive site up for sale for a number of years having moved to a new depot at Hellaby in 2010.

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The latest plans involve the demolition of the former depot and the erection of a waste wood solid biomass preparation facility, to mainly supply the Templeborough Biomass Power Plant.

The site is set to comprise a large materials reception, handling, preparation and storage yard where materials are received, prepared, blended and stored. All biomass material processed and manufactured on site will be exported for sale and use for renewable energy generation and will be supplied to a strict specification.

The depot site will be permitted to accept a maximum of 150,000 tonnes of waste per year and operaters will use dust control and mitigation measures regarding the storage and processing of materials where shredders will be capable of processing between 40 – 80 tonnes of mixed wood per hour.

As part of the plans for the Templeborough plant, where 40 fuel lorries per day are expected, permission was also granted for timber pre-treatment activities to 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 Firth Rixson site.

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News: New bridge marks power plant progress

The Templeborough Biomass Power Plant project continues to make rapid progress, not only has the Rotherham skyline changed with the construction of the power plant, but now a new bridge is being installed across the River Don at the site.

Construction began on the £150m biomass-fired power plant project in November last year. The Brite Partnership secured planning permission in 2010 for the 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.

In 2015 it was announced that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CI) had acquired 100% of the project for £150m and created Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Limited to take the development forward.

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.

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The old bridge on the site of the has been lifted out and a new bridge has been craned into position. The new bridge was lifted in as a single piece and weighs a mighty 153 tonnes and is over 49m long. The bridge has been assembled at the site during May by Reid Steel from Christchurch in Dorset.

Tim Forrest, general manager of the project said: "Building, transporting and installing a bridge of this magnitude is a huge task, but it is a key element to completing the Templeborough Biomass Power Plant, so it is ready to generate clean and green electricity in August 2017.

"Choosing the best time to carry out the bridge swap has been challenging, but all agreed the perfect time is when the traffic is at it lightest and will cause least disruption to road users and residents alike, so the Spring Bank holiday weekend at the end of May was chosen.

"It has been a great team effort by Reid, Interserve and its subcontractors, in particular Moortown, a local civil engineering company from Leeds, to get ready on time for this remarkable spectacle which was planned way back in late 2015 to take place this weekend."

The plant, which is set to open in August 2017, will generate around 41MW of green electricity every year which is enough to supply 78,000 homes and save over 150,000 tons of CO2.

As part of the approved plans, timber pre-treatment activities are set to 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.

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News: Construction underway on £150m Rotherham biomass plant

The £150m biomass-fired power plant project at Templeborough in Rotherham is starting to take shape.

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.

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

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.

After six months focussing on cleaning up the site, which was an operating steel works from 1871 until recently, the required remedial work has all now been completed. There were also several redundant buildings on site that have been demolished, with much of the concrete and other building materials being recycled.

The next step in the development of the plant is the construction of the new buildings. The piling has taken place and the new buildings have now started to take shape, with cranes and the first sections of wall emerging over the top of the site boundaries.

Tim Forrest from Templeborough Biomass Power Plant Ltd, said: "The construction teams have been working hard since March and they have now progressed the project to the point where we are starting to see the buildings take shape right across the site, which is really fantastic. We have also received great support and advice from Rotherham Investment & Development Office and also the council’s planning team, who have assisted us right through the planning and consenting process.

"We're still on course for an opening in late summer 2017 and hope that everyone in the community around the site will be as excited as we are to see the plant progressing and to make sure we all benefit from this new local industry."

The team has launched a dedicated project website to provide information on renewable energy, how biomass plants work and answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Forrest added: "We are really pleased to be launching our new dedicated website which we hope will put people at the heart of our construction. It will keep them up to date with our activities and answer their questions as well as enabling them to watch the plant take shape over the coming months. It is an exciting time for us and we want to make sure that our community feels involved with our project as it develops."

Set to generate 41MW of energy, more than the nearby biomass plant at Blackburn Meadows, around 80 personnel are currently on site. This number will increase as the site grows and develops, peaking at about 350 as the construction process progresses.

Templeborough Biomass website

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