Planned to be built in Cramlington, Northumberland, the 27.7MW biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant is designed to generate 213GWh of renewable electricity annually, required to power approximately 52,000 homes.
A consortium of Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractors (BWSC) and Burmeister & Wain Energy (BWE) will build the CHP plant, which will be operated by BWSC under a 12-year operations and maintenance contract upon completion of construction phase.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 56t CO2 per year, power plant will receive £21m funding from GIB and a further £27m from JLG.
Barclays will be offering the remaining funding as debt, of which Danish export credit agency EKF will guarantee 60%.
Statkraft will purchase much of the electricity generated from the facility under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).
Power will also be sold to local businesses operating in the adjacent industrial estate, namely Aesica Pharmaceuticals and MSD.
John Laing Group renewable energy managing director Ross McArthur said: "Our investment in Cramlington biomass CHP plant builds on the success of our partnership with Estover and GIB established on Speyside Renewable Energy plant.
"This exciting new project demonstrated the valuable contribution biomass can make to delivering renewable heat in the UK."
The plant will also generate renewable heat, which would be supplied to neighboring facilities. It will also create more than 25 jobs.
Estover Energy co-CEO and Founder Marcus Whately said: "Nearly £140m invested in the Cramlington CHP plant is fantastic news for the North East and for Estover."
Barclays Bank director Nial Gemmell said: "Working with GIB, John Laing Group and Estover to help deliver this deal further demonstrates our continued commitment to the UK renewable energy sector."
Image: Illustration of Cramlington biomass CHP plant. Photo: courtesy of Estover Energy Ltd.
