E.ON has today unveiled further details and images of its biomass-fired renewable energy plant, which will begin construction at the end of November, at Blackburn Meadows near Sheffield.

The £120m renewable energy plant will be set near the site of the old Tinsley Towers, adjacent to Meadowhall, and when operational will generate up to 30MW, enough to power 40,000 homes, by converting recycled waste wood into electricity.

Dave Rogers, Regional Director for Renewables at E.ON, said:  "The plans we’ve announced not only set out the final design of the power station but also confirm our intention to begin construction later this month.

“As our commitment to Sheffield demonstrates, we’re leading the development of renewable energy in the UK and biomass power stations, such as Blackburn Meadows, form an important part of that low carbon solution.”

Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, said:  “I recently visited Blackburn Meadows and I am pleased that construction of E.ON’s new biomass renewable energy plant is now due to commence.  This is great news for the area and will deliver a much needed boost for local jobs.”

The site, situated approximately 5.5km north east of Sheffield city centre, has a strong heritage of power production and has excellent links to electricity infrastructure and transport networks.

E.ON will use UK sourced recycled waste wood to power the plant and, as far as is possible, will use local companies throughout the construction of the energy plant.  It is expected that the site will create around 30 full-time jobs within the local area once operational in mid 2014.

E.ON will put in place a community benefits fund worth up to £25,000 a year to support local projects throughout the lifetime of the plant.  E.ON is also working with Sheffield City Council on its public art competition and the company has committed £500,000 to the project which will create a permanent piece of art work for the site.

The company already owns and operates a 44MW dedicated biomass plant at Steven's Croft, near Lockerbie.  The scheme produces enough power to supply around 70,000 homes and displaces approximately 140,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year by burning wood in place of traditional fuels like coal and gas.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• E.ON is one of the UK’s leading power and gas companies – generating electricity, and retailing power and gas – and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. We employ around 12,000 people in the UK and more than 79,000 worldwide;
• E.ON supplies power and gas to over 5 million domestic, small and medium-sized enterprise and industrial customers across the country. E.ON also offers innovative energy services and technologies tailored to meet its customers’ needs, and is helping customers become energy fit by encouraging them to insulate their homes, moderate their energy usage and even to generate their own power through microgeneration systems such as ground source heat pumps and solar panels for both homes and businesses;
• The generation business produces enough electricity to cater for the needs of around eight million homes from a portfolio of world-class gas-, coal- and oil-fired power stations;
• We’re a market leader in UK combined heat and power (CHP) with 12 sites supplying over 500MW of electricity and in excess of 900MW of heat;
• We’re one of the leading green generators in the UK, with 21 wind farms located from Cambridgeshire to Kintyre;
• We recently launched our first wave power generator, which is the first in UK waters and which is capable of generating 750kW of renewable energy;
• We have 1,500MW of renewable capacity under development in the UK;
• We are investing £50 million in new technologies and approaches over 10 years, through the Energy Technologies Institute;
• We have Biodiversity Action Plans at many of our sites which align us with the UK target of significantly reducing biodiversity loss;
• E.ON Group aims to invest up to €3bn between 2011 and 2013 on renewable generation and climate protection activities.

 

For more information, photos and/or to arrange an interview, contact:
Cara Ponton on 02476 181 303 or