The first waste to bioethanol facility in Europe could be ready for operations as soon as 2012, said the firm responsible for the project.
Developments for the plant, which will be built in Tees Valley in the northeast, have been pushed ahead after INEOS Bio secured funding for the facility. The firm recently received £7.3M in grant awards from One North East and the Department of Energy and Climate Change to construct the clean energy plant.
During construction, the project will 350 much-needed jobs to the area, and the plant, itself, will bring in 40 new permanent jobs to the region. Once ready and operational the company has plans to expand upon the site adding an integrated biorefinery. The expanded facilities will allow the firm to combine advanced bioenergy production with waste treatment as soon as 2015.
In all the plant will be able to produce 24,000 tonnes of carbon-neutral road transport fuel each year, as well as generate over 3MW of clean energy for export. INEOS Bio chief executive, Peter Williams, said that the site, once completed, will be the first waste to bioethanol plant in Europe. He added that by using the technology, rubbish collected from businesses and households can be recycled into clean energy and fuel for vehicles, homes and industry.
Using waste to create clean energy has become a popular method among waste management companies as they propose alternatives to Europe’s growing waste and energy crises. Anaerobic digestion is another growing mechanism that firms have begun to implement in waste management strategies to turn waste into green electricity.
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