Fears power stations in East Anglia are 'at risk' of closure
Small scale renewable power stations and the jobs they provide in the East are "at risk", according to an energy boss who is calling on the government to pledge further support before it is too late.Melton Renewable Energy generates power by burning agricultural waste, such as poultry and straw, at its three plants in Thetford in Norfolk, Ely in Cambridgeshire - and Eye in Suffolk.The company, like many others across the country, has long received financial support from the government as part of its Renewables Obligation scheme.But there are currently no concrete plans to renew the contract when it runs out in April 2027.
Melton Renewable Energy chief executive Eddie Wilkinson said: "Without this support these stations are potentially not economically viable, so there is a lot at stake, and 150 jobs across the business are probably at risk."
Mr Wilkinson added: "[The end of the Renewables Obligation] is coming fast down the tracks now and the clock is ticking fast – so we need a positive decision and long-term certainty."We are dealing with other people's waste products, we are not chopping down trees – it is homegrown domestic power and in an uncertain world I think that has value."
'Long term future'
According to the Department of Energy Security, the impact the end of the subsidy will have on "security of supply, clean power and the environment" is being assessed.But "no decisions" have yet been made on whether the government will continue to support small scale biomass generators beyond 2027.Richard Bloomfield is the manager at Thetford Power Station, which generates enough energy for about 100,000 homes a year by burning 1,600 tonnes of litter a day.Mr Bloomfield, one of about 40 people employed at the site, is worried about the extent to which such plants no longer existing may effect the environment.
"We are an important part of the infrastructure in the area and we need to ensure we have a long-term future," he told the BBC."If we weren't able to take the litter there would be 450,000 tonnes set aside on the fields, which would seep into the watercourse, killing rivers and causing heavy pollution."I am concerned."
But the Labour MP for South West Norfolk, Terry Jermy, believes the government appreciates the importance of biomass stations like those in East Anglia."We've got to be looking at all forms of power and I think biomass is actually part of that, so stations like this one here in Thetford are absolutely crucial," he said."We've had some encouraging conversations with the government but there is a lot to sort out, but I think we are making a really strong case."From an economic, environmental and electricity point of view, these sites are really important."
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
‘We turned a £25m country estate into Britain's poshest B&B'
The Ellis family stumbled upon one of England's loveliest stately homes for sale completely by accident. They were looking for a small plot of land to start a wine business when an agent got in touch. 'He said he knew of 500 acres that were coming up,' says James Ellis, but said it came with a caveat: 'it's got this really big house in the middle of it'.' James's father, Richard Ellis, had founded the holiday lettings business, Norfolk Country Cottages, in 1992 with his late wife, Lesley. Three decades later, having sold the company, the family were looking to buy some land on which they could start growing vines. The caveat turned out to be Grade I-listed Wolterton Hall, 10 miles from Cromer, rebuilt in the 1740s by Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, brother of Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister. Recently restored, it was on the market for £25m. The Ellises walked into the house and fell in love. 'I could see the look on my dad's face,' says James. 'I thought, we're in trouble – we're going to do this.' And they did. The Ellises' purchase of Wolterton in 2023 was, the agent later said, 'the most significant property sale in Norfolk for a long time'. And to think they'd just been looking for a bit of land. But who could blame them? Wolterton was a catch. It wasn't being sold in a parlous state, and by stately homes standards, it wasn't mind-bogglingly enormous. As James's brother, Will, the historian of the family, explains, it's a stately home 'but it was designed as a house, as Horatio Walpole put it, that was 'not extremely large, nor little… neither to be envied, nor despised'. It was designed to be an oasis, not as the kind of house that you're intimidated by.' Part of the Walpole family's Norfolk empire for almost 300 years, Wolterton is less well known than some of the other local Whig palaces – Houghton, the home of the Marquess of Cholmondeley, and the Earl of Leicester's Holkham. Robin Walpole, 10th Baron Walpole, inherited Wolterton in 1989, but after he made his home at nearby Mannington Hall, Wolterton lay empty. In 2016, Robin Walpole put Wolterton on the market, and it was snapped up for somewhere in the region of £10m by the restoration duo Keith Day and Peter Sheppard. Six years later, they had comprehensively restored it inside and out, and won the Georgian Group's award for the restoration of a country house for their efforts. Eager for a new project, they decided to move on from Wolterton – which is where the Ellises came in. Earlier this month, Wolterton opened to the public for the first time in a generation, with a new arts and culture programme featuring work by the artists and sculptors, Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson, alongside the house's stately interiors. Entry to Wolterton is free, with donations to the Ted Ellis Trust, the conservation charity established in the name of Richard Ellis's uncle, encouraged. 'You can come along and look at the art and then sit outside and take in the lake,' says Will. 'We want to share the space and let people see the environment, and reconnect with the arts heritage which is at Wolterton.' The Walpoles were ready collectors – what is left at Wolterton will be on show to the public, including a newly acquired portrait of Maria Walpole, Duchess of Gloucester, by Thomas Gainsborough. 'There's a Rubens in the Wallace Collection that used to be at Wolterton,' adds Will. 'We'd love to have that back.' The family's management of Wolterton has taken a slightly different shape to others who end up in their position, by design or inheritance. No one is living in the big house, for a start. 'Wolterton needs to become a sustainable business,' says James. 'If you've got family living there, then there's a clash. It frees it up from that perspective and stops any sibling rivalry.' Part of that sustainable business model harks back to the family's hospitality roots. As well as offering exclusive-use, whole-house rentals, and holiday lets in estate cottages, the bedrooms at Wolterton are bookable on a nightly basis – from the state bedroom with adjoining boudoir at £700 a night, to the Ripley room at £300 a night. 'We're not calling it a hotel,' says James, laughing, 'but it's like the poshest B&B you could ever book.' Whatever the results of their bedding-in period, the family is keen that Wolterton does not become a museum. 'We want it to be alive,' says James. 'When you have people in it, the walls and the fabric of the building give back.' It all seems very brave, to part with millions of pounds to buy an enormous house with 500 acres and an unlimited list of maintenance works. 'You're not the first to question our sanity,' says James. 'We're the second generation and we feel very fortunate to be in the position we're in.' Their challenge is two-fold. 'First, it's [about] being custodians and looking after this beautiful asset for the years that we're around. Secondly, it's [about] how do we turn this into something sustainable that we can pass on to the next generation? We love that business challenge. We think it's doable, but it's going to take some head-scratching.' So far, Wolterton is not yet commercially sustainable. 'That will take some time,' says Will. 'But is it a good business, is it fun, and is it building a good team with a good culture? It's starting to tick those boxes. The profitability will come with trying to do the right thing.' There is, he adds, more to value than commerciality. 'There is a community around Wolterton and we're opening up for that in the way the Walpoles did. We're hoping that we can play a role in that community as part of rebuilding the aura around the place.' Both James and Will – as well as their brother Tom, and sister Hannah – feel very lucky to be at Wolterton. 'We got into this purposefully to find something fun to do again – that was our motivation,' says James. 'We didn't need to do this, but we wanted to run something ourselves together again.'
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
French tycoon to cash in on Labour's data centre blitz
A French tycoon is plotting to cash in on the Labour-backed boom in data centres after snapping up planning rights for a landmark development in Cambridgeshire. Max-Hervé George, who runs Swiss-based investment fund SWI Group, has bought a site earmarked for development near Sutton-in-the-Isle with the intention of constructing one of the UK's biggest data centres. Mr George's fund said the new site, which won planning permission three years ago under a different developer, would target a capacity of 330 megawatts (MW) – making it one of the most significant projects in Britain. Mr George's move highlights a new gold rush for data centres after they were classed as critical national infrastructure last September, with Sir Keir Starmer creating 'AI growth zones' so that they can be built more quickly. The Cambridgeshire site aims to cater to a cluster of global technology businesses located in Britain's so-called 'golden triangle' between Cambridge, Oxford and London. It is among a slew of projects lined up across Britain that underpin the Prime Minister's strategy for economic growth. Under the plan, SWI Group has acquired the existing rights and planning permission from another business to develop the land. It plans to invest around £3bn to bring the site to life although the money is yet to be raised. Mr George, 35, said that his business has been 'unstinting and steadfast' in its efforts to create 'Europe's most valuable data centre groups'. He added: 'When we first got involved with data centres six years ago, we could see the demand for computing was going to grow dramatically, but the explosion in the growth of AI has taken even us by surprise.' The Sutton project will be the group's fifth data centre to operate under its AiOnX brand, adding to its sites in Ireland, Denmark, Spain and Italy. SWI is looking to invest more than €20bn (£14.6bn) into the centres, to provide a total capacity of 2 gigawatts. Mr George set up SWI Group earlier this year by merging his Icona Capital business with Switzerland's Stoneweg, a fund manager. He told The Telegraph in March that at least half of the fund's €10bn pot could be ultimately invested in British assets, in what could be a major boost for Sir Keir's push to attract overseas capital and bolster economic growth. Mr George said at the time that he was 'intensively looking to invest in data centres', as well as warehousing and logistics properties. Beyond SWI Group, Mr George made his millions through 'golden ticket' life insurance contracts sold by Aviva France. Under those contracts, which he first received at the age of seven from his father, customers were able to trade funds based on the previous week's prices.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Lotus in urgent talks with business secretary but has ‘no plans' to shut Norfolk factory
The UK business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, is holding urgent talks with the management of Lotus, as the British sportscar maker insisted that it had no intentions of shutting its Norfolk factory. The emergency meeting was understood to be under way on Sunday morning. Reynolds contacted Lotus bosses after it emerged that it was considering ending production of its sportscars in the UK and moving it to the US – a move that would jeopardise 1,300 jobs. Lotus's Chinese owner, Geely, was thought to be looking at options including manufacturing its Emira sportscar in the US, and permanently stopping production at its factory in Hethel, Norfolk. Such a decision by a prestige brand would be embarrassing for the government. Labour's industrial strategy, published last week, singled out automotive production as among the strategic sectors it wants to support. In a statement on Saturday, Lotus insisted 'the UK is the heart of the Lotus brand', and its largest commercial market in Europe. It said: 'Lotus Cars is continuing normal operations, and there are no plans to close the factory. We are actively exploring strategic options to enhance efficiency and ensure global competitiveness in the evolving market.' Lotus paused production at the Hethel factory in mid-May to manage inventories and supply chain issues caused by the US's extra 25% tariffs on car imports. Other UK carmakers halted exports to the US but have since resumed them, while waiting for a UK-US trade deal reached on 8 May to be implemented. On Monday, US tariffs are due to be reduced to 10%. Lotus has the capacity to manufacture up to 5,000 Emira sports cars a year, which have a starting price of £75,000, at the Norfolk factory. About 60% of them are shipped to the US. It also makes an electric hypercar at the site in smaller numbers, which is priced at £2.3m plus. Ben Goldsborough, the Labour MP for south Norfolk, said on Facebook he was 'deeply concerned' by the rumours surrounding a potential closure of Lotus's Hethel facility. He said he had held telephone conversations with the management team and government ministers to 'emphasise just how vital this site is – not only to the heritage of British automotive engineering, but to the local economy and skilled workforce that call Hethel home'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'These early-stage conversations have confirmed the seriousness of the situation,' he said, vowing to champion every feasible avenue including financial support, incentives and strategic partnerships. Qingfeng Feng, the chief executive of Lotus Technology, told investors this week that the company was looking at shifting production to the US. 'At this moment, we are discussing with our strategic partners in the US on localisation plans in order to avoid the influence of the US tariff,' he said, according to a transcript of the call hosted by the data company Alphasense. 'With our strategic partners, we had an in-depth discussion around our US landscape and we believe localisation is a feasible plan.'
