Cramlington planning application submitted
27/09/2012
 A planning application has been submitted to Northumberland County Council for a Biomass Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) at Windmill Industrial Estate, near Cramlington. The plant will supply renewable electricity to the Grid and heat and electricity to Aesica Pharmaceuticals.
The plant will create up to 40 jobs in the North East: 20 jobs at the plant itself and a further 20 in the local forestry and transport sectors. A further 100 or so jobs will be created during construction of the biomass plant which will also support the growth of businesses in and around Windmill Industrial Estate as well as the local forestry industry. A public exhibition was held earlier this summer at the Manor Walk Shopping Centre to give local people the chance to learn more about the plan to build a local biomass CHP plant. Andrew Troup from Estover Energy says the public consultations with the local community were important in terms of identifying issues of concern. “The response from the public was overwhelmingly positive. People are keen to ensure the existing 150 jobs at Aesica are supported and also welcomed the creation of 40 new jobs at the plant, in forestry and in transport.” The plant will use clean low-grade wood from local forestry operations to produce electricity and heat in the form of steam. A consortium of forestry owners will supply sufficient low-grade wood on a sustainable basis, typically low grade wood unsuitable for sawmills and timber production. “This kind of renewable energy is excellent: supplying a local industrial operation with energy generated from a local fuel supply, as well as supplying electricity to the national grid. As well as supplying the Grid, the plant will help Aesica Pharmaceuticals remain competitive globally from its base in the North East and to reduce its carbon footprint. Aesica is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers and is the second best performing company in the North East of England with international sales growing by 37 per cent over the course of two years to December 2011. Newcastle-based planning consultancy Fairhurst is working with Estover Energy. The planning documents submitted with the application for the CHP plant are available on the Northumberland County Council website.
http://estoverenergy.co.uk/project3.shtm
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