Bid for green energy plant on Portland (From Thisisdorset)

Bid for green energy plant on Portland

9:30am Wednesday 25th March 2009

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MORE than 20 jobs will be created on Portland if a green energy plant powered by vegetable and waste oils goes ahead.

W4B Renewable Energy Ltd wants the estimated £30million plant to be up and running on two acres of land at Balaclava Bay, Portland Port, by 2011.

If the scheme gets planning permission, it would generate 17.8 Megawatts of electricity – enough to power 9,000 homes – that would be fed into the local power grid.

W4B Renewable Energy Ltd’s managing director Richard Gudgeon said upto 22 jobs would be created.

“This proposal will help the UK meet its renewable energy targets, which require 15.4 per cent of our electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2015. It is anticipated that there will be up to 22 people employed on site including operators, a site manager, administration staff, and a purchasing and logistics team.”

The proposed plant would be able to generate electricity from processed and cleaned oilseed rape, jatropha, palm oil and waste cooking oils.

Mr Gudgeon said the site would run around the clock and be able to process up to four tonnes of vegetable oil per hour. W4B chose Portland Port because it is a ‘privately-managed, deep-water facility’.

Mr Gudgeon said: “We’ve also already got a really good relationship with people down at the port and have been working with them on this proposal.”

W4B is working on a detailed planning application for submission to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, which will be considered at a planning meeting in November.

People working near the port were largely in favour of the scheme but also expressed some misgivings.

Army Sergeant Craig Joel, chief engineer for the 17th Port and Maritime Regiment, said: “If it’s renewable energy then it’s got to be better than building another power station.

“It sounds good because it’s getting rid of waste oil and not burning up any more diesel in the process.”

The landlord of the nearby Royal Breakwater Hotel, Rob Smail, said: “This is the first I’ve heard of this.

“While I’m all for renewable energy, we already suffer from an awful lot from dirt in the environment around here.

“It would be nice to know if there’s going to be any smell from it or not and things like that.”

Container ship worker Iqbal Raghesh, from India, said: “I’ve been coming here on and off for around 17 years.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea but I do wonder if it’s going to noisy or smelly.”

There will be an exhibition and public question and answer session on the proposed plant at the Britannia Passenger Terminal at Portland Port, Castletown on Saturday between 10am and 4pm.

Mr Gudgeon and other W4B representatives will be available on the day to answer questions.

EXCLUSIVE UK LICENCE FOR PROCESS

The proposed green energy plant will be run mainly on virgin palm oil shipped in from Rotterdam and South East Asia on container ships and unloaded via a jetty on site.

Once the oil reaches the plant, W4B has an exclusive UK licence to use a modified Italian processing machine, manufactured by Merloni Progetti, to clean and process the oil before burning it in modified marine diesel engines.

Mr Gudgeon said that by-products from this process could also be used in pharmaceutical and bio-diesel industries.

The electricity created from burning the oils will be exported into the local power grid via underground cables.

The two-acre site will also include storage tanks, processing machines and workshops.

W4B is also proposing to create a similar site in Bristol by 2011.

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