A major biomass power generation project is planned at the Port of Tyne in North Tyneside, England, generating carbon neutral electricity for approximately 600,000 homes.

The proposed 295 megawatt (MW) Tyne Renewable Energy Plant (Tyne REP) will be located on industrial land in the Port of Tyne, North Shields and is 10 kilometres east of Newcastle City Centre, at a site on the north bank of the River Tyne. The project will generate power from sustainable sources of biomass and is targeted for commercial operation in 2014.

This is the second biomass project undertaken in the region by UK-based MGT Power. The company’s first project, the Tees REP secured planning consent from the UK Government in July 2009, and is scheduled to start operating in 2012.

Each project is expected to save 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 from being emitted every year. Director of MGT Power Chris Moore said each scheme will produce in one year as much green electricity as the largest 1,000 MW wind farm project.

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Mr Moore said “With the Government committed to more renewable electricity generation over the next decade, our Tyne biomass project, along with our consented scheme at Teesport, will make a significant contribution to the Government’s targets.”

The biomass feedstock for the Tyne REP will be sourced from certified sustainable forestry projects developed by the MGT Power team and partners in North and South America and the Baltic States. In the long term the company plans to draw on UK sources. The biomass is clean burning woodchip, which delivers 95 per cent greenhouse gas savings in comparison to coal or natural gas, and will not use high quality land suitable for food crops. The plant will use around 2.4 million tonnes of woodchips per annum and will generate base load energy.

Meanwhile, The World Bioenergy Association has joined the International Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance), further unifying and strengthening the Alliance’s voice for the renewable energy sector worldwide.

The REN Alliance already consists of the International Geothermal Association, the International Hydropower Association, the International Solar Energy Society, and the World Wind Association, representing the geothermal, hydropower, solar, and wind energy sectors respectively.