Soda ash producer Brunner Mond, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, will reportedly build a sustainable energy plant on the site of a disused power station at Lostock near Northwich, UK.
The plant wil…
Soda ash producer Brunner Mond, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, will reportedly build a sustainable energy plant on the site of a disused power station at Lostock near Northwich, UK. The plant will be a joint venture with energy group E.ON, and will use non-hazardous, solid fuel made from pre-treated waste that would otherwise go to landfill. The plant will also use biomass material, and is part of the company“s commitments to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels such as gas. John Kerrigan, managing director of Brunner Mond, said: We hope to do this by building a highly efficient energy plant that will produce around a third of our business“s heat energy from a renewable and sustainable fuel.” “The development of this proposed facility demonstrates Brunner Mond“s commitment to maintaining the longer term competitiveness of our business and our ability to continue to contribute to the local economy.” According to Brunnder Mond, the plant will use approximately 600,000 tonnes of fuel per year to produce up to 60MW of electricity and about 100 tonnes per hour of steam, equivalent to the energy needs of 45,000 homes. Kerrigan added: The use of energy and carbon footprints are among the main issues for all industry and like everyone else, we have to play our part in meeting national energy and CO2 reduction targets. This project will help us to tackle climate change by reducing our carbon footprint and using renewable energy sources. As a business, we are committed to helping the UK meet its renewable energy targets by adopting sustainable practices. Brunner Mond will not have any involvement in manufacturing the fuel, which will be delivered to the site preferentially by rail but also by road in covered bulk transporters, pre-treated and ready for use. The company said the new plant, which will supply renewable energy to the National Grid and create about 40 to 50 permanent jobs, will help maintain its long-term efficiency and competitiveness and meet UK government and European best practice to recover energy from non-recyclable material for use in heat and power schemes.