Teesside waste energy plant halted
5 Nov 2015
Work on the Tees Valley 2 (TV2) renewable energy plant has been suspended.
The duration of the suspension, in which 700 workers will be affected, has not yet been determined, said the project’s developers Air Products.
However, a statement released by the company said deferring construction on TV2 will allow any ‘learnings from TV1’ – which is situated alongside TV2 – to be applied to the second plant.
This is yet another crushing blow for the workers on Teesside
GMB Union officer Michael Blench
“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,” the statement said.
“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.”
The GMB Union said there will be talks with Air Products “to try and resolve this appalling situation”.
”This is yet another crushing blow for the workers on Teesside,” said GMB regional officer for construction Michael Blench.
“The problems seemed to be in a technology failure on the previous Tees Valley 1 plant which was constructed for Air Products next door by EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) company Foster Wheeler Energy,” Blench added.
TV1 and TV2 are designed to generate roughly 50MW of electricity per year using advanced plasma gasification energy-from-waste technology.
