SUEZ consults on plan to build new carbon capture plant next to its existing facility in Billingham
Before it submits a planning application, SUEZ is keen to engage with local communities and their representatives to get feedback on the plans. It will be distributing information leaflets to local households and businesses over the coming days inviting the community to complete a feedback form before the consultation closes on Sunday 11 December 2022.
The proposed carbon capture plant would benefit the environment by decarbonising the process of creating energy from the non-recyclable household waste that is treated at one of the energy-from-waste facilities at its existing site in Billingham.
It would be built on a one-hectare area of disused land on the SUEZ site in Haverton Hill and would be part of the much bigger East Coast Cluster carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
Funding for the main East Coast Cluster pipeline for Teesside is already in place and, if approved, the main pipeline will run through SUEZ’s Haverton Hill site.
If approved, SUEZ’s new plant would ‘plug in’ to that main pipeline and will help Teesside and the UK’s drive to Net Zero. CCS has a major role to play if this is to be delivered – the Government’s Climate Change Committee has described Carbon Capture as “a necessity rather than an option to achieve Net Zero by 2050”.
Stuart Hayward-Higham, Technical Development Director for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “We are proud to have been a part of the industrial landscape here at Haverton Hill for many years and the location of the site, alongside the East Coast Cluster pipeline, makes it an ideal place to bring together energy-from-waste and carbon capture technologies. Consulting and engaging with local communities is important, and we’re looking forward to having discussions and receiving feedback on the plans over the coming weeks.”
He added: “As part of our journey towards Net Zero, we have a clear focus on reducing the carbon footprint of managing our customers’ waste. Carbon capture technology is an important part of this journey, offering the opportunity to further decarbonise the treatment of the residual waste left after people have reused and recycled. Through projects like this, our goal is to help households, councils and business decarbonise their waste.”
What is carbon capture and storage?
Carbon Capture and Storage is a way of reducing carbon emissions.
For SUEZ on Teesside, this involves capturing the carbon dioxide produced during the energy-from-waste process, transporting it via pipeline, and then storing it deep under the North Sea.
The new plant would remove more than 90% of fossil and biogenic CO₂ emissions from the existing energy-from-waste facility it connects to and would capture 240,000 tonnes of carbon every year.
This would be a self-sufficient process. All the power and steam used in the carbon capture plant would be generated by the existing energy-from-waste facility.
The captured carbon from the SUEZ plant would be transported by a short connecting pipeline to the main ‘East Coast Cluster’ Carbon Capture and Storage pipeline – which would run through the site.
This main pipeline is expected to be operational by 2027 and will transport carbon captured from a range of projects across Teesside 145km to an aquifer beneath the North Sea where it will be stored safely.
What happens next?
Once the pre-application consultation is complete, SUEZ is planning to submit a planning application to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
If approved, construction of the proposed carbon capture plant would begin in 2025, creating around 50 temporary jobs, and the plant would become operational in 2027, creating around 15 permanent jobs.