UK Green Investment Bank and ESB support new £190m renewable electricity plant on the Thames

UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) and Irish electricity utility Electricity Supply Board (ESB) have today made a combined commitment to invest £70 million in a new £190m renewable power facility at the Port of Tilbury, Essex.

The agreement marks ESB’s first investment in the UK’s waste and biomass sector.

GIB and ESB are each committing £35m in a combination of equity and shareholder loans, with an additional £2m participation from technology provider Aalborg Energie Technik a/s. Senior debt funding is being provided by EKF (Eksport Kredit Fonden), Investec and Rabobank.

The Tilbury Green Power facility is expected to generate 300 GWh of green electricity per year, enough to power more than 70,000 homes, when it is commissioned in early 2017.

Up to 370 jobs will be created during the construction phase and nearly 50 permanent jobs in on-going operations. Stobart Biomass will be providing 270,000 tonnes per year of waste wood fuel for the project, sourced from the local catchment area and processed at an onsite facility.

BWSC has been appointed EPC contractor and O&M provider for the project.

"The Tilbury project is well placed to capitalise on the UK’s largest regional waste wood market, generating green electricity and creating local employment from London’s waste resources. The project is also important for marking the first investment of the Irish electricity utility ESB in UK waste and biomass infrastructure."

Shaun Kingsbury
Chief Executive, UK Green Investment Bank

"ESB’s investment in Tilbury Green Power demonstrates the company’s continuing commitment renewable electricity generation and further reducing the carbon mix in our portfolio. It complements ESB’s existing UK investments in wind and gas-fired generation.

ESB is delighted to be making this investment in partnership with the Green Investment Bank. As the British and Irish energy markets move closer together, investments like Tilbury will be increasingly important on both sides of the Irish Sea."

Pat O’Doherty
Chief Executive, ESB

"We are pleased to have closed another landmark deal in this sector. The project really shows that experienced, capable partners working together can find solutions to deliver complex projects."

Adam Gordon
Power and Infrastructure Finance, Investec Bank