'Green' power plant receives £1.4m funding

Plans for a power plant in Shropshire, which will generate electricity from household waste, have received approval for £1.4m of funding from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands.

South Shropshire District Council now awaits a decision from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on whether it will receive a further £1.2m. The council has formed a joint venture with Greenfinch, a developer of anaerobic digester technology, to build and operate the plant.

A senior officer of the council, Graham Biggs, said: “We have achieved preferred bidder status with Defra, one of only seven projects in the country to do so, and with Advantage West Midlands funding coming on stream, we’re also in formal negotiations with Defra on the terms of the contract.

“We hope to be able to put the job out to tender and be in a position to begin construction work in early April this year, subject to planning consent.”