A new biomass power station, which will burn waste wood, has been given the green light to begin construction, and should be fully operational within two years.

Port Clarence Biomass and Darlington-based Prism Planning have secured permission for the £160m facility, which will sit on the banks of the river Tees and will create 20 permanent jobs in the area… plus numerous temporary positions during its construction. The project is being financed by Cardiff-based renewable energy specialist Eco2.

Steve Barker, managing director of Prism Planning, said the 49 megawatt scheme had received strong support from Stockton Council and had been approved without the need to go to planning committee. “We are very pleased by the speed in which it’s been done, this is a large application, which has been determined nearly a month ahead of schedule – it shows developers and councils can work together to get big investment into the Tees Valley.

“At a time when the security of gas supplies from Russia is very much in the media spotlight after recent events, it is great to see that Stockton is helping to deliver practical alternatives. Work will start as soon as possible on-site and we’ve no reason to think this wouldn’t be up and running in a couple of years.”

A similar scheme on the same site had first been announced by Bio Energy Investments (BEI) in 2009, but the developer struggled to attract funding for its scheme, but this project has had funding in place from day one. This will be the largest type of biomass plant that can be approved at local authority level and will see the facility turn 325,000 tonnes of waste wood a year into green energy. Feedstock will come from construction and demolition sites, civic amenity sites and packaging.