Operational issues force Heineken to shut biomass plants
Thursday 04 February 2010
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| Site manager Pat Thurston outside the Royal Brewery in Manchester when it was launched in November 2009 |
Heineken UK has had to shut down its two biomass plants in Manchester and Tadcaster due to operational issues, the company has confirmed.
The two 4.7MW plants at the Royal Brewery in Manchester and John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster have been temporarily closed while the beer and cider company seeks to resolve problems concerning the way the fuel used behaves on initial start-up of the plants.
A spokeswoman for Heineken UK said: "We can confirm that, as part of the complex commissioning process, we have temporarily suspended operation of our two biomass plants at Royal Brewery in Manchester and John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster.
"The technology used in biomass generation is very new; and we need to address some operating issues with these two installations before they can commence full time running."
She added that efficient biomass generation was extremely important to the company and that the plants represented a significant investment for the business. Heineken UK invested around £35 million in the two plants, which it claimed made it one of the largest single investments in renewable technology by a non-utility company in the UK.
Heinken UK was unable to say when the plants would be fully operational again, but claimed it is more important that the operating issues are solved first before commencing full time running.
"We are committed to finding the right operational conditions to enable the plants to provide clean, cheap and sustainable energy for our breweries. We are keen to get this right and taking the plants off-line will help us to resolve these outstanding issues more effectively," said the spokeswoman.
It was originally predicted that the two plants would each produce 37,000 MWh of electrical energy per year and supply all of the two site's power requirements, with any excess energy produced sold back to the National Grid.
It was also hoped that the plants would together reduce carbon emissions by 30,000 tonnes per annum.
Parliamentary under secretary of state for the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Lord Davies, launched the plant at the Royal Brewery in Manchester in November 2009 (see this NewEnergyFocus.com story).
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