MGT Power to set up second 295 MW bioelectric plant at Tyne in UK

MGT Power is planning to set up a second 295 MW bioelectricity plant in Tyne to accompany its current project under construction in nearby Teesport.

According to the plans the Tyne Renewable Energy Plant (TREP) will be located on industrial land 10km east of Newcastle city centre on the north bank of River Tyne. The proposed plant would burn about 2.4 million tonnes of wood a year obtained from certified-sustainable plants in North and South America and produce electricity continuously.

A cost estimate has yet to be worked out for the plant but its 295 MW Tees plant will cost £500 million.

According to Chris Moore, director of MGT, large-scale biomass projects can operate at baseload and each scheme will produce as much green electricity a year as the largest 1,000 MW project with savings of upto 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

The project details have been set out by MGT in a scoping document circulated to a number of local and national organisations including North Tyneside Council, the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Environment Agency.

The document details the project's rationale, the energy and planning policy framework and the technical studies. It also documents consultations that the company will undertake as part of the project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).