E.ON is planning to develop one of the UK’s largest biomass renewable energy plants at the Royal Portbury Dock in North Somerset.

We submitted a planning application to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in August 2009 to build a 150MW renewable energy plant, which could produce enough renewable energy for more than 200,000 homes by burning sustainably sourced wood materials that would largely be brought to the plant by ship.

The proposed renewable energy plant will displace almost 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually by burning sustainably sourced biomass.

If the project gets the green light, construction could begin in 2011 and be fully operational as early as 2014. It’s expected that the site would create 35 full-time jobs within the local area once completed.

Angus Grahamslaw, Project Developer for E.ON Climate & Renewables, said: “We believe that this is a great location for the plant and underlines the south west region’s reputation as one of the country’s leading green areas.

“We’re hopeful that the Local Planning Authority and DECC will see the benefits of the scheme, both to local stakeholders and also to the environment.”

Our planning application follows three public exhibitions we held across the region in June 2009, which gave residents and stakeholders the opportunity to learn more about our proposals for the site and meet the project team.

The Portbury Dock scheme is the latest addition to our biomass portfolio. Our first biomass renewable energy plant, Steven's Croft near Lockerbie in Scotland, produces enough electricity for 70,000 homes and prevents emissions of around 140,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. And we have received planning permission to build a new biomass plant at Blackburn Meadows in Sheffield, which we hope to begin constructing in early 2011.