New power plant for Shoreham?

Artist impression of what EGP's proposed renewable electricity generating facility could look like from the north east (across the canal) Credit: EGP

Specialist renewable energy company Edgeley Green Power has today submitted its planning application to Adur District Council to build a small renewable electricity generating facility at Shoreham Port.

It follows a public consultation run by the company in 2010, in which the company invited local residents and businesses to have their say about the proposals to develop and operate the £20 million power station on a one acre site next to the existing Shoreham Power Station on Fishersgate Terminal - an established industrial and power generating area.

It will be fuelled by a range of independently audited vegetable and plant oils and animal fats which aren’t fit for human consumption. These are required to meet the sustainability criteria within theRenewable Obligation, a Government scheme designed to encourage generation of electricity from renewable sources. The fuel will be transported direct to the site by ship rather than road.

Should the planning application be successful, the company plans to start construction next year and become fully operational in 2014. It will generate approximately 32 mega watts of electricity per hour –enough for 18,000 average sized homes, the equivalent of powering more than the whole of Shoreham, Southwick and Portslade.

Under the plans 20 permanent jobs are set to be created once the power station becomes operational, including an apprenticeship scheme and the staff will be recruited from the local area where possible. It is also estimated more than 70 temporary jobs will be created during construction, but there will be no more than 20 workers on site at any one time.

Mike Reynolds, Edgeley Green Power’s chief executive said: “Our planning application has been submitted later than anticipated because we had been awaiting the outcome of the Government’s recent review of bio fuels for renewable power generation, which was not completeduntil the end of last year.

“Shoreham Port is still the ideal location for us because we can bring all our fuel in by sea directly to site, meaning we can take full advantage of the port’s facilities and not impact on road traffic.”

Shoreham Port’s development director Peter Davies added: “We see energy generation as a key part of the port’s future and Edgeley Green Power’s proposals sit well alongside the other renewable energyprojects such as solar power being developed at the moment. The new facility will bring extra business to the port as well as create jobs for local people.”