News

�59m biomass plant to power paper mill

Wednesday 06 December 2006

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Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen challenged business to convert to more environmentally friendly forms of power after announcing that �10m of public money is being ploughed into creating a renewable energy power plant to help run a paper mill.
UPM-Kymmene, the multinational paper corporation, announced that it planned to build the �59m biomass combined heat and power plant at its Caledonian paper mill in Irvine, Ayrshire, in two years.
It will generate more than half the mill's electricity needs and all of its heat requirements using waste wood from its paper productions processes. It will create up to 10 jobs and secure some 360 mill jobs.
The mill consumes a massive 1% of Scotland's total energy needs with its current set up which includes a coal-fired boiler. The new plant is expected to reduce carbon emissions from 90,000 tonnes a year to 15,000 tonnes.
Mr Stephen said the plant would take Scotland 5% of the way to its target of generating 18% of Scotland's energy through renewable sources by 2010.
He said the announcement was "great news" for the executive's plans to make Scotland the renewable powerhouse of Europe.

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