Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant
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Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant

The Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant generates enough energy to power 65,000 homes and provides free heat and hot water for five public buildings under a district energy scheme.

 

 

Location

  • Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, UK

Client

  • Glennmont Partners

Project Status

  • Completed

The Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant in Lincolnshire is one of the very first straw-fired plants to be built in the U.K.

Upon completion, the site will generate virtually carbon neutral electricity for 65,000 homes and employ up to 80 people. Burning approximately 240,000 bales of straw a year, it will provide a new income stream for local farmers.

Owned and built by Eco2 Lincs Ltd, the Sleaford Plant is part of the firm’s greater focus on investing in clean energy infrastructure systems with secure, demonstrable income streams and operational costs. To help Eco2 Lincs achieve their goals, we were appointed to provide technical oversight of the EPC contractor during the project execution phase. Construction began in May 2012. 

 

Bales of Straw Combusted Annually
240,000 240,000
Zero carbon electricity for homes
65,000 65,000
Straw-fired power plant in the UK
2nd 2nd

Our role included ensuring that: contract requirements were met, best industry practices were adhered to, and the plant was capable of reliable and efficient operation. We reviewed the contractor’s designs, attended key factory quality inspections, and supervised construction and commissioning activities.

While the Sleaford project was the first conventional biomass facility to achieve financial close in five years, the U.K. government issued sustainability requirements in August 2013, promoting the use of locally produced biomass fuel. Support for this niche renewable technology is set to grow, negating global transportation issues for fuel production and providing economic benefits to local farmers.

 

Other challenges that we have overcome