§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what are the location of the pilot plants using(a) pyrolysis and (b) gasification. [17425]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Department is supporting with Border Biofuels a project to build, test and run by July 2003 a fully integrated combined heat and power facility, including a pyrolysis plant capable of processing a minimum of 25 tonnes per day. The total project cost is £4.65 million, with my Department's contribution being £1.16 million. The location of the proposed demonstration site is under consideration.
So far, the leading gasification pilot plant has been the Arable Biomass Renewable Energy (ARBRE) project at Eggborough, Yorkshire, which is currently in the final stages of commissioning. The project has been developed by First Renewables Limited (FRL) with support from the European Commission THERMIE programme and from NFFO. ARBRE will consume about 43,000 tonnes of wood fuel per year supplied from forestry residues and short-rotation coppice, and will generate 10 megawatts of electricity per year, of which 8 megawatts will be transported to the grid.
Research is concentrating on scaling-up and developing the technology deployed in ARBRE. The Department has recently approved a project with ALSTOM Energy Limited, First Renewables Limited and Cambridge University which will involve setting up a plant about four times as big as ARBRE. The total cost of this project will be £7.3 million, with the Department contributing £2.9 million. Possible sites are being investigated.
788WSmall-scale biomass gasification projects are being taken forward in Swansea and in Newton-le-Willows near Warrington. There are also two small-scale gasification demonstrator facilities in Northern Ireland that are already in operation. These are at Brook Hall Estate, County Londonderry and the Blackwater Valley Museum, County Armagh.