Navitas Environmental is a private limited company formed to invest in green energy projects. It has partnered with Standardkessel, one of the leading providers of renewable energy technology. The company aims to improve the existing waste treatment operations currently on the site in Appspond Lane and create a modern facility using waste wood to create renewable energy.

Navitas Environmental’s technology partner, Standardkessel, is one of Germany’s leading providers of renewable energy technology. Founded more than 80 years ago, the company has built more than 1,000 plants. It specialises in renewable energy technology and has in-depth experience of biomass facilities, whose benefits (including producing clean energy and diverting organic matter from landfill) are recognised across Europe.

Biomass is a generic term for any organic material. This can be used to produce heat, electricity or transport fuel. These organic materials can take many forms, including plants, wood, energy crops and agricultural residues, but only wood waste can be used by the proposed plant at Appspond Lane.

Navitas is proposing to build a biomass plant to make use of wood waste, transforming it into ‘green’ energy. Unlike fossil fuels such as gas and oil, biomass is a renewable resource – one which absorbs CO2 as it grows. The Environment Agency believes that the biomass power sector can play a key role in helping the UK meet its renewable energy and greenhouse gas commitments.

A lot of waste wood is unsuitable for recycling, and much of this residual waste currently has to be sent to landfill, which is both costly in environmental terms and in financial terms (growing landfill taxes are costing councils more each year).

The UK is running out of landfill sites and the disposal of wood into landfill is problematic for a number of reasons.

Due to its bulkiness and density, wood is difficult to compact, which means it takes up a lot of space. In addition, it decomposes slowly and its decomposition creates the landfill gas, methane. Emissions of landfill methane are 20 times more harmful in terms of their greenhouse effect than the equivalent amount of CO2 produced during biomass combustion.

The government acknowledges that landfill is not a sustainable solution and wants to stop all wood waste going to landfill by 2010.

The wood is delivered to the biomass facility and stockpiled as currently permitted at the site. This wood is then processed to create a material of uniform size to feed into the plant.

When fed into the plant, the heat generated drives a turbine which in turn generates electricity.

The gases which also result from the process increase the generated heat and this helps to minimise emissions to the air.

Once the material has oxidised it leaves ash which will be disposed of at another waste site by the operator.

Facilities which convert biomass into electrical power are considered to be carbon neutral as CO2 emissions generated in the plant are generally offset by the CO2 emissions consumed during the lifecycle of organic material. By comparison, the CO2 emissions released from the combustion of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and natural gas) add to the imbalance of carbon emissions to our atmosphere, which contribute to global warming.

Biomass facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment. All waste facilities are required to have an Environmental Permit (EP) which the Environment Agency administers under the strict requirements of the relevant EU Directives. All such facilities in Europe must operate within these limits.

Assist local businesses and industries by taking their waste timber and timber products;

Generate ‘clean’ electricity which is exported to the National Grid;

Provide a sustainable development with green credentials;

By turning recovered wood into electricity, the amount of waste which is sent to landfill can be reduced and renewable energy can be provided.

The residual by-product of the process represents approximately 3 to 4% of the volume of waste wood consumed. This is stored in enclosed containers and most of it can be used in recycled products e.g. within the block and road building industries. The small volume that can’t be recycled is disposed of at a suitable landfill site.