UK Green Investment Bank commits £64m for clean energy plant

The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) will invest £64 million towards an energy from waste power plant based in Derby in the Midlands.

GIB and Derbyshire County Council have formed a partnership for the project that also has financial support from Germany’s Bayerische Landesbank and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

The three banks are investing a third of the power plant’s total funding and the project will take 32 months to complete.

The new facility will be located in south Derby and will process waste from households throughout the region.  The project is expected to supply 14,000 homes with clean electricity and will assume control of Derby and Derbyshire’s household waste recycling centres.

Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said, “The UK Green Investment Bank, capitalised with £3.8 billion of government funding, has been set up to help businesses make the transition to a green economy right across the country. This investment in Derby will secure local jobs and give the city the environmental infrastructure it needs to reduce household waste and generate renewable energy.” 

250 jobs will be created for the construction phase and 34 staff will be employed to operate the site.

The plant will recycle over 35,000 tonnes of waste and will divert over 170 kilotons of waste from landfill each year.

Shaun Kingsbury, chief executive of UK Green Investment Bank, said, “This project provides Derby and Derbyshire with the modern, sophisticated infrastructure it needs to manage its household waste in a way that’s green and affordable. Instead of waste being sent to landfill, the project will ensure that more is recycled with the remainder used to create renewable electricity which will be sold to the grid.”