Glennmont backs UK waste wood power plant

UK fund manager Temporis Capital and Welsh renewables developer Eco2 have sold Port Clarence Energy to London-headquartered Glennmont Partners.

The project, which started two years ago, was jointly developed by both sellers. The transaction announced today is part of a £160 million (€222 million; $248 million) investment programme that should lead to the building of a waste wood fired power station at Able Clarence Port, on the banks of the River Tees in Stockton-on-Tees.

The plant will provide 40 megawatts (MW) of renewable power to the UK energy market through the combustion of waste wood. It will use about 250,000 tonnes of waste wood annually.

Expected to start operations in 2018, the facility will generate enough renewable energy to power 70,000 houses once commissioned. It is also planned to provide heat to an adjacent industrial property.

“This project will have a significant positive impact on an area that continues to face some considerable economic challenges. We have taken an empty brownfield site and laid the foundations for it to be turned back into production, creating hundreds of jobs,” said David Watson, chief executive of Temporis Capital, in a statement.

Glennmont, a spinout from BNP Paribas, closed its second fund on €500 million in September last year. The vehicle will be acquiring the project’s equity in its entirety, with debt provided by Deutsche Bank and Danske Bank. The transaction will be supported by EKF, the export credit agency of Denmark.

The deal follows the firm’s acquisition earlier this year of four wind farms in France and a 40MW biomass power station in Wales.