Wood chip recycling plant opens

A wood recycling plant built to provide a fuel source for a renewable energy power station on Teesside has been officially opened.

UK Wood Recycling has unveiled the facility on the Wilton International site in Redcar.

It will produce 80,000 tonnes of recycled wood chip a year to the £60m Wilton Biomass power station which is being built on the same site.

Products such as horse and cattle bedding will also be made at the site.

When operational later this year, Wilton 10 will require about 300,000 tons of wood as its fuel every year.

About 40% of this will be recycled wood, with the remaining 60% sourced in equal proportions from forestry management schemes, sawmills and specially grown energy crops in the form of coppice.

The power station will be operated by SembCorp Utilities UK Ltd.

It says the use of renewable and recycled resources means reduced emissions of carbon dioxide when compared with fossil fuels.