Open days held on £40m renewable energy plans in Knowsley

May 8 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

TWO open days are to be held next weekend for the public to look at plans for a £40m renewable energy facility in Knowsley.

The proposed facility at Knowsley Business Park would use leftover waste, which cannot be recycled, to generate green electricity for up to 10,000 homes, as well as heat for local industry.

The company behind the scheme, Energos, said it would create 20 jobs.

The facility would use a process called gasification, which converts non-recyclable waste into a gas by using the heat of partial combustion.

The gas is then fully combusted to generate heat, which is used to produce steam and electricity.

Nick Dawber, managing director of Energos, said: “Residents will understandably have questions about the new facility, and it is important to us that we provide full and frank answers to allay any concerns.

“We don’t believe our facility would create a blot on the landscape as it is a community waste solution on a compact scale.

“It is surrounded by planting and would fit into the industrial environment without dominating the skyline.

“As this plant is designed to be a local solution, and therefore of limited capacity, the volume of traffic delivering to the site is low.”

Residents and businesses will have an opportunity to put their questions to Energos and view site plans at a public exhibition held on May 16 (noon to 8pm) and 17 (10am to 2pm) at Suites Hotel, Knowsley.