Renewable electricity plant can power 6,000 homes - Foster
Thursday, 1 October 2009Energy Minister Arlene Foster officially opened Belfast City Council’s first landfill gas electricity generating plant, today.
The installation is situated on the former landfill site at the North Foreshore, now known as Giant’s Park, and will provide enough renewable electricity to supply around 6,000 households.
Speaking at the event, which was also attended by Belfast Lord Mayor, Naomi Long, the Minister said: “This is a very important milestone for our renewables development. The Giant’s Park installation is the largest non-wind renewable generating station to come into operation in Northern Ireland and only the second to produce electricity from landfill gas.
“I look forward to further sites being developed across Northern Ireland, to increase the amount of renewable energy we can harness from landfill gas, an energy source that would otherwise be wasted.
“To facilitate such further development, I announced earlier this month that electricity generated from landfill gas will be provided with a higher level of financial assistance in Northern Ireland, despite significant reductions in the rest of the UK.”
The landfill gas that will produce electricity at the Giant’s Park is a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane, produced from over 10 million tonnes of waste that has been deposited in the 340 acre site since the early 1970s. It is converted to electricity through five generating plants, each with a capacity of 1megawatt (MW).
The generating station itself is part of a wider redevelopment of the North Foreshore landfill area, which is the largest such project in Europe. It is intended that the development will ultimately incorporate sporting, amenity and educational facilities, alongside the Environmental Resource Recovery Park.
Speaking to an audience including representatives from local government, NIE and the company taking forward the project, ‘Renewable Power Systems’, Arlene Foster said she is encouraged by the growth in Northern Ireland’s renewable energy sector.
The Minister said: “Over the past four years, the amount of electricity being produced from renewable energy sources has more than doubled here and now accounts for over 8% of all electricity consumed.
“Most of this is from wind energy but it is important that we develop more predictable renewable sources, such as landfill gas. This installation in the Giant’s Park will help provide the diversity that is so important for our security of supply and will also help us move towards our 2012 target of having 15% of our renewables generation from non-wind sources.”
Notes to Editors:
1. Belfast City Council’s landfill gas generating plant at the North Foreshore landfill site – now known as Giant’s Park – is, at 5MW, expected to be the largest such generation site in Northern Ireland. It is also just the second such site to be generate electricity to date; the only other one being the 0.5MW site that opened near Tandragee last year.
2. Landfill gas is produced from the decomposition of biodegradable waste. To prevent its emission into the atmosphere and potential damage to the surrounding area it is normally extracted and channelled to a central point where it can be treated and processed depending on the end use of the gas. If not used to generate electricity it is normally flared off (burned).
3. Electricity generated from landfill gas is classified as renewable and therefore can make a useful contribution both to increasing the amount of indigenous energy generation and to meeting renewables targets. Its use also reduces the environmental impact of its release into the atmosphere.
4. The main support mechanism for renewables generation in Northern Ireland is provided under the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) in the form of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) which are issued to renewable generators according to the level of output. The NIRO operates in tandem with similar Obligations in GB and there is a UK-wide market for the ROCs which currently trade at around £50 each and hence provide financial support to the generators. Landfill gas generation in Northern Ireland is eligible to receive 1 ROC for each megawatt-hour (MWh) of output compared to the rest of the UK where the support level is only one-quarter of a ROC.
5. For media enquiries please contact the DETI Press Office on 028 9052 9297. Out of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
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