Centrica Energy has withdrawn planning applications for dedicated biomass power plants totalling 217 megawatts at Roosecote in Barrow-in-Furness and Glanford Brigg in North Lincolnshire. It also confirmed it was to mothball its gas-fired power station at Roosecote.
The company said recent changes to the regulatory framework indicated a preference for co-firing and coal conversion to biomass over dedicated biomass.
Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said: “We cannot afford to have companies with the standing and acumen of Centrica dropping out of the sector. This is bad news for employment, the supply chain and energy security.
“Biomass is an economic and baseload source of renewable power. With a capacity crunch looming in 2015, Government should be doing its utmost to encourage such shovel-ready projects. It must act swiftly to repair investor confidence in biomass, and renewables in general. Right now the Government seems to have an institutional bias against new biomass power projects.”