Biomass Power Station plan scrapped

DONG Energy have scrapped plans to build a power station at Queen Elizabeth Dock.

DONG Energy has reportedly cancelled its plans to build a biomass power station at Queen Elizabeth Dock. The Danish power company has said that "wider strategic decisions" have prompted the surprise move. According to quotes obtained by the BBC the company said:

"The decision to withdraw from the Humber Renewables project is based purely on wider strategic considerations. The company has taken the decision to focus on core activities such as gas-fired power stations and offshore wind developments. Sadly, this means we must withdraw our proposals to build a biomass power station near Hull."

It is a surprising move in light of the fact that DONG Energy representatives had presented the company case for the proposed power station, at a Hull City Council Scrutiny Meeting, only last week (5th October).

The decision will come as a blow to those hoping that the development might have created some local jobs and help towards strategic plans to develop a local renewable energy base of operations on the Humber.

Plans by Associated British Ports to build a deep-water berth at Queen Elizabeth dock are presumed to be still viable, but that development would have also benefited enormously from the DONG proposals.

It is still to be discovered what local people in the HU12 area think about the surprise announcement. However, local concerns had been heightened by the reports that the power station would have stood up to 100 metres high. Local people at the DONG consultation events had previously been told that the power station would have used a water cooling system that would have done away with the need to build unsightly water cooling towers such as those at BP Chemicals which stand at 85 metres high.

The Humber Renewables website set up by the company for consultation and information purposes has already been taken down.