Benefits
As well as creating an environmentally sustainable solution to power generation and waste management, the facility will provide a number of socio-economic benefits to the region for more than 20 years. Some of these benefits include:
- Industry investment in the area for a period of over 20 years
- Employment of around 500-700 people throughout the facility’s construction
- Creation of around 50 direct permanent jobs for ongoing operation and maintenance of the facility
- Increased “green technology” jobs in the North East boosting the region’s reputation as a skilled technology hub
- Help the region reach renewable energy targets by reducing landfill and saving local resources
- Potential opportunities for local suppliers
Air Products Tees Valley facility will produce electricity for up to 50,000 homes and help diversify the UK’s energy mix with new sustainable energy solutions. The need for this type of renewable energy is increasingly being driven by national and international strategies to decarbonise our economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to providing a renewable energy solution, the proposed facility will also reduce the amount of landfill and incineration, As the UK generates increasing quantities of waste, using landfill sites for disposal is becoming costly, inefficient and unsustainable. Incinerating the waste we produce can also have negative environmental impacts.
The Air Products facility is expected to process between 300,000-350,000 tonnes of waste per year, providing a sustainable alternative for waste that would otherwise be destined to become landfill. The technology that will be used at the plant also has advantages over incineration as fewer pollutant gases are produced. |
