Scottish & Southern Energy PLC
16 June 2006
SSE PROPOSALS FOR ASH SEPARATION PROJECT AT FIDDLER'S FERRY
Scottish and Southern Energy plc ('SSE') and RockTron Limited ('RockTron') have
agreed to co-operate in the completion of a venture which is expected to lead to
the construction, at SSE's Fiddler's Ferry power station in Cheshire, of the
first plant in the UK to separate the ash arising from electricity generation
into constituent mineral parts for sale as cement substitute products and
industrial minerals.
The announcement of this venture took place during a visit to Fiddler's Ferry
today by the Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Secretary of State for the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs.
The ash which arises from the combustion of coal is currently stored in lagoons
at the Fiddler's Ferry site and in other landfill sites around the UK. The
process developed by RockTron results in the ash being separated into its
mineral parts, mainly cement substitutes alpha(TM) and delta(TM), and industrial
fillers for plastic and paint.
In the UK over two million tonnes of cement substitute products are sold each
year. This is likely to grow significantly as a result of environmental
pressures. The use of these substitutes eliminates the need for a
carbon-intensive limestone kilning process in cement production.
Fiddler's Ferry currently produces around 300,000 tonnes of ash each year and
there is a substantial stockpile of usable ash at the site.
The plant will process up to 800,000 tonnes of ash a year which would supply the
product to the North West of England, a part of the country which is currently
not supplied with cement substitute products. By providing an alternative to the
use of the limestone kilning process, it is estimated that this would help to
reduce carbon emissions by around 500,000 tonnes a year.
Developing the plant would require investment of around £17m. SSE and RockTron
expect to make a final decision on whether to proceed with this development
later this year. Construction work would begin soon thereafter.
During his visit Mr Milliband said: 'I look forward to hearing about the
innovative work being done here at Fiddler's Ferry. Energy companies have an
important role to play in driving down the UK's emissions as we move to a low
carbon economy.'
Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: 'I have no doubt that we have in
this development a potential solution to the long-standing issue of ash
production from electricity generation at coal-fired power stations. This is
another example of the work we are doing to minimise the environmental impacts
arising from these stations. That bodes well for the long-term contribution that
we believe coal can make to securing the UK's supplies of energy.'
Lord Wade, Chairman of RockTron said: 'SSE's commitments to a cleaner
environment makes them an ideal partner for RockTron, which sees itself as an
environmental remediation company. The Fiddler's Ferry plant will be the first
of its kind in the world and offers the three major benefits of producing high
added value industrial minerals, eliminates the need for storing ash in lagoons
and landfill sites, and helps to reduce carbon emissions by about 500,000 tonnes
per annum.'
Enquiries to:
Scottish and Southern Energy
Alan Young, Director of Corporate Communications 0870 900 0410
Denis Kerby, Investor and Media Relations Manager 0870 900 0410
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
D
MSCBGGDLIDBGGLL
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.