Enfield, north London, UK, will soon be home to a new biomass plant after Enfield council granted planning permission on 31 August.

Irish-based Kedco, the renewable energy firm behind the plans, can now begin securing funding for the 12MW plant, which is predicted to cost in the region of £45 million (€53.6 million) to build. Following this, it is thought that the facility will be up and running within 18 months.

Donal Buckley, CEO of Kedco, said: ‘We believe that the biomass clean tech sector is currently at the same stage as the wind industry was five years ago. This represents an enormous opportunity for growth for Kedco.’

In addition to the 12MW of electricity the facility will generate each year, it will also produce 10MW of heat, all from 60,000 tonnes of waste wood obtained from the construction and demolition industries located within a five-mile radius of the proposed site.

‘We believe that the granting of this consent shows the commitment of the Greater London Authority and Enfield council to the biomass sector within London,’ commented Buckley.