RWE Innogy moves into UK biomass

29 September 2008


RWE is to enter the growing biomass power market in the UK through the acquisition of Helius Energy Alpha Ltd., which is developing a 65 MWe biomass-fired power plant in eastern England.

RWE Innogy, the renewable energy arm of German utility RWE, is to invest EUR260 million in the construction of the Stallingborough biomass plant and says that it intends to rapidly increase its biomass portfolio over the next three years.

RWE’s strategy reflects the growing importance of biomass in the UK’s energy mix. The UK subsidiary of Germany’s E.On has announced plans for a 150 MW biomass plant in Bristol, while Welsh Power has proposed the construction of a 50 MW biomass plant in South Wales.

“This transaction enables RWE Innogy to enter the UK biomass market,” said Prof. Fritz Varenholt, CEO of RWE Innogy. “Overall, we intend to increase the generation of electricity and heat from solid biomass almost five-fold to 600 MWe in Europe by 2011.

“The UK is an extremely important market for these growth plans.”

The Stallingborough plant, located in northeast Lincolnshire, has already received planning consent. Helius Energy plc, which is selling Helius Energy Alpha to RWE, has already spent around £7 million on the project, and will receive 13 per cent of the plant’s annual earnings.

Helius and RWE also intend to develop other biomass energy projects together. In July RWE announced plans for a 45 MW biomass CHP plant in Markinch, Scotland.

Welsh Power’s specialist sub-50 MW generation subsidiary CEC Generation has sumited plans for construction of a 49.9 MW biomass plant at Newport Docks. The plant will use pure biomass fuels comprising a mix of primarily wood chip and energy crops.

The Stallingborough biomass plant is designed for a gross capacity of 73 MWe (65 MWe declared net capacity), and will be fuelled with wood residuals or forest biomass. The majority of the required biomass will be contractually secured on a long-term basis.

In August, E.On’s UK subsidiary announced plans to invest $600 million in the construction of a biomass plant at Portbury Dock, Bristol. The company hopes to submit a planning application for the project in 2009 and start construction in 2010.




Linkedin Linkedin   
Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.