Minister of State for Energy, Malcolm Wicks, opens biomass unit at Norbord

Stirlingshire-based panelboard manufacturer Norbord welcomed Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister of State for Energy, on Wednesday 13th February to officially open its new, state-of-the-art biomass plant.

Norbord – the UK’s leading producer of engineered wood products – is continuing to lead the way when it comes to protecting the environment. The company has invested £2.5million in new environmental protection measures – including its new biomass plant – at its site in Cowie, taking its capital investment on environmental protection measures at the plant to over £31million since 2000.

Steve Roebuck, Director of Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs at Norbord, said: “Norbord is extremely pleased that Malcolm Wicks has opened the newly installed biomass unit. Having such a relevant Government Minister visit the site to lend his support to this initiative highlights the significance of our biomass plant and the positive environmental impact that it will have.

“The central plank of the Government’s energy policy is to drive us all towards renewable energy production, and this is exactly what is happening at Norbord – where 70% of our fuel is derived from renewables, all coming from process residues.”

Norbord continues to make great strides in reducing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing the use of biomass fuels. The company’s biomass comes from bark and wood residue in the manufacturing process and none is purchased from outside sources. As a whole, it uses more than one million metric tons of biomass every year for energy – which is the equivalent of about two million barrels of oil – and demonstrates Norbord’s ongoing commitment to the environment.

Malcolm Wicks, Minister of State for Energy, said: "Norbord are to be congratulated. Using biomass in this way will reduce carbon emissions and thereby play an important role in tackling climate change. The new plant at Cowie is a real success story, utilising waste wood and residues that would normally end up in landfill. The investment they have made, and commitment shown, is commendable."

Norbord has achieved a 45% reduction in fossil fuel combustion in the past five years, through energy efficiency measures and capital investment in renewables. The addition of the biomass plant can only assist with improving these figures even further.

Roebuck continued: “At present there is a huge amount of available biomass currently going to landfill that is being ignored. New modern energy from waste plants should be supported to deliver a number of advantages, including the delivery of energy from a continuing waste stream, tackling the issue of fast filling up landfill sites and all without using virgin wood, where demand is already outstripping supply.

“Waste should only go to landfill after all recyclable parts have been recovered and then the rest burned to produce energy. This source should be used in preference to virgin biomass material, which should be used and then recycled, only being combusted for energy generation when it has reached the end of the recycling chain.”

After the combustion process all the waste gas is treated in a WESP (wet electrostatic precipitator) to ensure that the energy generation from the Biomass plant causes no harm to the environment.

Roebuck said: “The Cowie site was one of the first of its type to introduce WESP technology ten years ago and, once again, we recently installed the very latest version of this technology to ensure we remain at the forefront of best practice for environmental protection measures, which exceed the most stringent industry standards.

“Norbord’s commitment to protect our employees, the environment and the communities in which we operate is integral to how we run our business and that is why we have invested so much to ensure our impact on the environment is minimised.”

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