Energos Beats the Clock to Keep Knowsley Village Project Alive

Energos kept its four-year plan to build a gasification plant in Knowsley Village in Mercyside, United Kingdom in tact on Friday when it began construction on a 78,000 ton per year facility.

CAD Drawing of proposed Knowsley Village plant.
Courtesy: ENERGOS Website

The Echo, a newspaper in Liverpool first reported on Apr. 30^th that the Norwegian-based company was racing the clock to begin construction before May 9^th, when the planning permission would expire. While it made for a good story, industry experts understood that there was never any real danger for Energos since building work could be carried out before the consultation period for the company’s permit ends in late 2012.  A few bulldozers working on the site entrance and some tree maintenance is all that was required to keep the planning permission alive.

Energos Managing Director Nick Dawber reports that heavy construction will begin in June and take two years to complete.

While it didn’t’ take much to sidestep that problem, Energos knows its not out of the woods yet. Around 500 letters of objection have been filed to the Environmental Agency and struggles with the company’s first gasification plant at the Isle of Wight over the past two years are sure to add complications to the permitting process.

Courtesy: ENERGOS Website

Energos received planning consent for the Knowsley, Mercyside facility in May 2009. The site has since remained dormant due to the bad economy and trouble getting financial backing from banks. The technology firm currently has seven gasification plants producing thermal energy in Norway and Germany in addition to its first electrical plant at Isle of Wight. 

The Isle of Wight gasification plant has become the “first” waste-fueled plant of its kind to receive Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs), despite its setbacks in 2010. The facility was shut down twice for brief periods after breaching dioxin emissions limits. Waste Gas Technology, the company in charge of operating the plant worked with Energos and the Environmental Agency to make repairs and the facility has been running continuously since Oct. 2010.

The plant’s small setbacks were not without repercussions, however, as the Isle of Wight Council voted to overhaul its recycling program in and effort to lessen its dependence on the facility. The plant currently processes 30,000 tons per year to produce 1.8 MW of electrical power.

Better BTU Take: We are excited that Energos is getting another chance at a gasification facility in the UK. A large company with proven results in thermal energy that openly advertises its emissions is a great vehicle for the advancement of the technology. Getting permitted in Norway and the UK is no small accomplishment and we are excited to see that parent company ENER-G has opened an office in the U.S. as well.


Energos Company Website

Energos Beat Planning Deadline to Keep Controversial Waste Plant Alive in Knowsley VillageDevelopment Alive  The Echo, May 4, 2012


Waste Giant Energos Face Race Against Time to Meet Planning Deadline for Knowsley Village Plant The Echo, Apr. 30, 2012