CHP plant could result in cheap energy for Chilton - 21/05/2009
A planned combined heat and power (CHP) energy plant in Chilton, County Durham, could help local residents tackle high prices from energy suppliers.
The plan has been proposed by Dalkia, a French-owned company, which plans to spend £40 million on the plant that could save 115,000 tonnes of wood from ending up in landfill sites to instead generate 50,000 tonnes of wood pellets, reports the Northern Echo.
As many as 15,000 local homes could be powered by the plant at lower rates, while surplus electricity could be sold to National Grid and nearly 30 permanent jobs would be created.
Geoff Woodcock, operations director for Esh Developments, told the paper: "It was quite a coincidence we were looking for someone to operate a CHP plant as part of our plans, but Dalkia had already identified the site for a much larger plant."
If the project goes ahead, Chilton will become the first place in the UK to host a biomass CHP scheme, although Dalkia runs 100 plants throughout continental Europe.
The government recently announced plans to insulate every UK home in the next few years.
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