Press Release
02 October 2009
McGrigors advises RWE npower renewables on multi-million pound biomass deal
UK law firm McGrigors has advised RWE npower renewables on a multi-million pound deal with papermaker Tullis Russell to supply its Scottish mill with heat and electricity from a new biomass-fuelled co-generation plant.
The CHP plant will replace Tullis Russell’s existing coal-fired facility at Markinch in Fife and have an installed capacity of 50MW. It is expected that the CHP plant will reduce the papermaker’s annual carbon emissions by 250,000 tonnes and generate 6% of Scotland’s renewable generation targets.
The biomass project was managed by Npower Cogen's development team working closely with colleagues across the RWE Group and external commercial consultant Ian McLeod of Cloud Energy. Construction work on RWE npower renewables’ £200 million plant, which is funded by parent company RWE Innogy and has secured £8.1 million support from the Scottish Government, will commence immediately and the facility is scheduled to start operating in 2012.
Around 400,000 tonnes of virgin and used wood from a wide range of sources will be used to power the CHP plant with contracts being put in place with local and national companies for the supply of biomass.
The McGrigors team was led by energy and infrastructure partner Euan McVicar. He said: “This is one of the most significant deals in the renewable sector in Scotland so far this year and we were delighted to work with RWE on the project. Not only will RWE npower renewables’ new plant help Scotland meet its renewable energy targets but it will also see Tullis Russell reduce its carbon footprint by more than 70%.”
Paul Cowling, managing director of RWE npower renewables, said: “This investment is a major commitment by RWE and is in line with RWE’s strategy and Government policy to reduce CO2 emissions in the UK electricity sector. This type of investment would not have been possible without the support from the Government’s Renewables Obligation support mechanism.”
Tullis Russell were advised by Dundas & Wilson.
Andy Peat
Business Development Director
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7054 2710
Mobile: +44 (0)7894 835 386
Email: andy.peat@mcgrigors.com
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