We are pleased to announce that plans for the Plant are being resubmitted following consultation with the Environment Agency to tackle historical flooding problems in the area.

We remain fully committed to the Brigg Renewable Energy Plant, which offers great benefits to Brigg and the wider community. By using locally sourced straw to generate green energy, the plant will bring 80 new jobs, over £20 million in construction contracts and £6 million per year in straw supply contracts – a sustainable boost to the local economy in these difficult times.

Alleviating Local Flooding Problems

Managing Rainwater
In recent years, flooding caused by severe rain has been a problem for local residents. The former British Sugar Works contributes to this problem as it is a large area of built ground that does not allow rainwater to soak away naturally. In severe storms,rainwater runs off the site into Scawby Beck. The beck can only drain into the New River Ancholme when tides allow and so, if the timing is not right, there can be local flooding.

Our development will stop this chain of events. We will excavate an area within the site which will collect and store rainwater in the event of a storm. This stored water will be pumped away at a controlled rate at times when Scawby Beck can accommodate the flow. This will release some of the pressure on the beck during a storm and therefore significantly alleviate the flooding problem in the area.

Working within the flood plain
Building the biomass plant will mean that parts of the site must be raised so that they lie above the flood plain. Other areas of the site will be reduced in height to compensate for the land raising. This means that the flood waters that are displaced by the land that is raised have somewhere to go and will not cause flooding elsewhere. A scheme that operates on these principles has been developed in consultation with the Environment Agency and is incorporated into the new planning submission. In fact, the work will provide more storage for flood waters within the site boundary than there is now.

Consulting with the Community

As part of our policy of working closely with the community to understand local attitudes to our development, we commissioned an independent survey of nearby residents. This has enabled us to home in on the issues that particularly concern the local community. It has been very helpful to understand local residents’ views and all of the issues that emerged during consultation are specifically addressed on the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section on our project website, www.briggrep.co.uk.

Jobs and Economic Boost for Brigg

At a time of economic recession in the UK, it is reassuring to know that biomass will bring a major boost to the economy of Brigg and local jobs for local people.

Renewable energy projects which rely on a ‘free’ resource like the wind or rain, offer little in the way of local benefits. Projects that rely on straw are different, as they require a sizeable workforce. It takes people to bale, stack, transport and operate the plant and this means new jobs, new skills and new money for Brigg. Fuel supply will bring 50 new jobs to the area and bring a new market worth well over £6 million to the agricultural community.

Building the facility will require an investment in excess of £90 million. This will bring opportunities for local involvement in many areas, from civil engineering through to supplying the trees we need for landscaping. We estimate our spend in the region during construction will be around £20 million.

Finally, the operation of the plant will bring with it a £2 million annual spend and 30 skilled jobs. Less than a handful of these jobs demand previous experience: the rest are available to anybody with basic engineering qualifications. Eco2 is committed to offering specific training in the particular techniques of plant operation and maintenance

Tackling Climate Change

We now know there is a pressing need to find alternatives to fossil fuels, not only to avoid the effects of global warming, but also to reduce our reliance on imported energy.

Globally, biomass leads the green revolution. It provides 15% of the world's energy but its full potential has yet to be achieved in the UK. Brigg is ideally placed to play its part - the abundance of arable farming in the area means that biomass resources are readily available simply by using the residues from food crops.

The benefit of bioenergy is that it uses natural resources such as straw to produce electricity. Any carbon dioxide released by burning a biomass fuel is cancelled out by the amount the crop takes in as it grows. Transporting straw to the plant releases some carbon dioxide, but this represents a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions saved. Overall, the plant will save 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year by avoiding burning fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Pull quote - “Overall, the plant will save 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year”

Brigg Renewable Energy Plant will produce enough electricity to supply 65,000 homes, equivalent to all the homes in North Lincolnshire. It will make a significant contribution to UK renewable energy targets and play an important role in reducing the impact of global warming .