Pilkington aims to develop energy recovery plant

The firm is developing the scheme in partnership with the utility company, ESB. If approved, the development will see around 200 jobs created during construction and up to 20 jobs once the plant is operational. 

Once completed, the facility will be capable of producing 15MW of electricity, 

around 5MW of which will be used to power Pilkington’s manufacturing operations at Greengate and Watson.

Excess capacity will be pumped into the local grid and it is anticipated that there will be enough energy created to power more than 15,000 homes across St Helens and surrounding area.

The development is a welcome boost for the local economy and comes almost three years after the company announced over 100 job losses in the borough.

The facility will be financed, built and operated by ESB, the business behind a major new 880MW power station currently under construction in Carrington, Manchester.

Matt Buckley, managing director at Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, said “As an experienced business committed to sustainable energy generation, ESB is the right partner for us to progress this exciting venture with.

“The company has an excellent record of creating jobs through the projects it invests in, and this new facility will open up a considerable number of employment opportunities for local people.

“Glass manufacturing is an energy-intensive industry and against a backdrop of rising gas and electricity prices and decreasing reserves of fossil fuels, this type of clean energy generation is vital to ensuring a sustainable future for our business.”

The state-of-the-art energy technology to be used at the Greengate facility is one of a new generation where electricity is produced from refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which is made from the dry material left over after recyclables have been removed from waste.

It is anticipated that the RDF for this facility will be provided by a local waste management company.