What is the Southampton Biomass Power project?
Southampton Biomass Power is a proposed 100 megawatt biomass
fuelled energy generating plant. The plant will generate renewable
electricity that will be fed into the local electricity supply
grid, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 200,000 homes.
This is sufficient to provide the Southampton population
(approximately 100,000 households) and local commercial development
with renewable electricity. The Southampton Biomass Power scheme
will also have the capability to provide heat to local industrial,
commercial and residential developments.
When operational, the plant will contribute to achieving the
national objective of a 20% cut in carbon emissions and the
national target of achieving 15% renewable energy by 2020.
The plant will require up to 800,000 tonnes of solid
sustainably-sourced biomass per year. The biomass feedstock will
comprise of sustainably sourced fuel in the form of virgin wood
fibre; recycled wood and energy crops together with other biomass
material including residues from processing cereals and oilseeds
that qualify as renewable fuels under the Renewables Obligations
2009. Biomass will not include domestic or hospital waste,
hazardous waste, liquid biomass, for example, vegetable oils or
Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF).
The fuel will be supplied from sustainably managed sources, in
accordance with Helius Energy's Sustainability Policy and will
comply with the requirements set out in the Renewables Obligation
2009 and OFGEM sustainability criteria set out in 'Sustainability
Criteria for Solid and Gaseous Biomass for Generators (greater than
50kilowatts)'. The Southampton Biomass Power plant will need to
demonstrate, through a chain of custody, that the fuel meets
specified sustainability requirements. For further information
about biomass, please visit the Why Biomass? page.
The majority of the fuel will be delivered to the plant through
the Port of Southampton with some locally sourced fuel being
delivered to the site by road.
The plant will generate between 53-450 jobs during construction
and up to 100 direct and indirect jobs once in operation.
Changes to the Southampton Biomass Power
scheme
Following a comprehensive review in response to the feedback
received during previous consultation, the site for the Southampton
Biomass Power project has been relocated further into the Western
Docks of the Port of Southampton, doubling the distance to the
nearest residential properties. The heights and footprints of the
majority of the project buildings and structures have also been
reduced and leading architects, Crowther Associates, have designed
three alternative approaches to the external design of the project.
For further information on the different designs, please visit the
Design page.
What are the advantages of the revised
proposals?
- The proposed scheme is now double the distance from the nearest
residents at 250 metres
- Views through the site have been retained
- The scheme has a lower profile, with many buildings reduced in
height
- The footprint of the facility is 2,000 square meters smaller
than the previous scheme
- Potential for a landmark building, with the opportunity for the
community to influence the final design
- During construction more than 400 jobs would be created
- When completed, the facility would create at least 100 direct
and indirect local jobs
- Helius will provide an employment and skills training programme
in conjunction with Southampton City Council so that local people
can take advantage of the employment opportunities
- Every year the facility would contribute about £10m to the
local economy
- The project would help Southampton and the UK meet carbon
reduction targets
- The scheme would make the city a leader in renewable energy and
reduce its carbon footprint
- Potential for providing a renewable energy community heat
supply
- The plant will save up to 470,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per
annum from entering the atmosphere compared with the averages for
electricity generated using fossil fuels in the European Union
See our FAQ page if you have further questions about the
project.
This page will be updated as the project
progresses.
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