The pioneering £40 million wood-fuelled Arbre Energy plant in Yorkshire has gone into liquidation after former owners Kelda, who had been funding development at the plant, decided to discontinue their support. Present owners EPRL will now sell the facility to help pay off creditors. One possible buyer is Swedish company TPS, which already holds a 10 per cent stake.
The plant, which was set up in 1998, was bought by EPRL as part of a package deal for all Kelda's renewables interests. As part of the deal Kelda agreed to continue funding the deveopment costs at Arbre, but only while it judged the project technically and economically viable.
Arbre burns biomass harvested from willow plantations. The closure will leave 40 staff out of work and some 50 farmers contracted to produce the fuel crop with no market for their product.
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