Construction of UK energy-from-waste plant suspended
05 November 2015
The construction of an energy-from-waste plant at Port Clarence on Teesside has been suspended, affecting more than 700 workers. The Tees Valley facilities are the first of their kind in the UK, and the largest of their kind anywhere in the world. A GMB trade union statement says the problem seems to be a technology failure at the Tees Valley 1 plant, which was built for Air Products by Foster Wheeler Energy.
The Port Clarence site - Image: Air Products
Air Products, which is building the second plant itself, issued the following statement:
"After careful consideration we have made a decision to temporarily suspend construction of our second energy from waste project (TV2) in Tees Valley, UK. This decision does not reflect on the performance of our 700 highly-professional contractor colleagues currently working on the TV2 project, who will sadly be impacted by the suspension in work.
"The duration of the suspension is yet to be determined but we remain committed to completing both facilities as soon as possible. We will work with our contactors to wind down TV2 construction activity in a controlled way.
"As with many ground breaking projects, improvements are identified as construction advances and new solutions put in place. This is the case for our first renewable energy facility currently being built (TV1). The learnings we are making here will be applicable to our second plant. By deferring construction we will be able to ensure any modifications are applied to TV2 in a cost-effective way when activity is resumed.
"Work on our first renewable energy project will not be interrupted. Our team remains focused on safe construction of this plant, as we continue progression through to its operation.
"Although not part of our original plan, in the long-term, this decision will aid the overall operational success and future of both our renewable energy facilities at Teesside."
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