Latest news with #Statera
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Residents speak of years living in 'torment' and 'torture' of bass noise from power plants
Residents have spoken of their "torture" and "torment" living with bass noise from two power plants. The people of Cowpen Bewley say they have been proved right by years of "persistent and pulsating" low-frequency noise from Statera's power stations. The problem was so serious, the Stor Generating Plants on Seal Sands Link Road, Billingham are no longer operating. The Environment Agency suspended the plants' environmental permits until the issue was resolved. So Saltholme North Power Ltd applied for planning permission to install a "sarcophagus" around the 49.99MW gas-fired power plants. READ MORE: Woman, 18, dies after car crashes into tree in Hartlepool as driver arrested READ MORE: Mum's drug abuse 'hell' as she tells of son who 'can't go to the toilet by himself anymore' The EA were said to be satisfied this could reduce the noise levels, but would only restore the permits if it was achieved. However residents at Stockton Council's planning committee meeting said they were not convinced. Dr Hugh Stitt said residents had suffered "torment, anguish and mental stress" because of the plants, approved in 2018 and operating since 2021. He told the committee: "The key issue is one of low-frequency noise - persistent and pulsating. "The issue was highlighted and predicted by our noise consultant prior to the original plan being approved. Subsequent events have proven his analysis to be entirely correct. 'I implore you, I entreat you, I beseech you' "In this application [the consultant] is again preaching caution. He states specifically it is unlikely that measures will achieve the required reduction in low-frequency noise. "This all feels too rushed," he said, referring to fundamental unresolved issues and doubt over whether the proposed improvements would alleviate residents' suffering. "Should this go ahead, they will likely be subjected once again to low-frequency purgatory. "We must have absolute assurance that this will not be the case. For the sake of our welfare, I therefore implore you, I entreat you, I beseech you to reject this proposal." Fellow objector Stewart Swales said the committee had ignored the predictions of a nationally recognised expert on low frequency noise pollution, which turned out to be "devastatingly accurate". He said: "The consequences of that decision are no longer theoretical, they are real. They are affecting people, my family, my neighbours, our community. "My family along with others have lived through noise levels between 66 and 72 decibels - not for a day, or a week, but for three years. This isn't a nuisance, that is in my view an act of torture. "It's harmed our sleep, our peace, our physical and mental health. Personally my mental health could not withstand going through this again. As elected councillors, we are asking for your help." Billingham South Councillor Katie Weston, speaking on behalf of another objector, said residents of a beautiful village and "tranquil oasis" had endured "the most awful noise nuisance", with one forced to move out of their main bedroom because of sleep disturbance: "It is important that we are never placed in the same position again, therefore it is essential that noise conditions are comprehensive and swiftly enforceable." Dan Rayne, director of Stratera Energy, told councillors: "Saltholme is one of the UK's most efficient gas peaking plants. It's turned off the majority of the time. "It's intended to operate during periods of low power generation or excess demand. It helps support the UK's move towards wind power and solar energy. "We noticed that the low-frequency noise generated by the site was higher than our planning assessments predicted. Over the last few years we're undertaken a lot of independent noise assessment studies and consultations. "We're confident that the design we propose is robust and will alleviate all of the noise issues that have been flagged over the past few years. The EA has confirmed it is satisfied with the proposal. "If the plan is approved we intend to start immediately to rectify the noise issues. We will undertake noise measurements after installation to demonstrate that the scheme has been successful." 'A degree of comfort' Council officers recommended approval of the plan with conditions. Planning service manager Simon Grundy said: "The Environment Agency do hold an awful lot of the power in this. "They give consent for the permits and they've got to be satisfied before they relinquish the suspension. There is a degree of comfort I hope members will get from that." Environmental health service manager Stephen Donaghy added: "The environmental permit is currently suspended. The Environment Agency will not lift the suspension, they will simply allow a period of time for testing to be undertaken. "They must meet with the conditions and continue to do so for the lifetime of the development. If it still doesn't meet with the technical requirements, they will continue with the suspension, the site would not be operational." Debating the plan, Cllr Barry Woodhouse said: "It's a case of suck it and see. We should and will get the data of any analysis. "If it can be cured then fair enough. If it can't be cured then I would hope that the Environment Agency will come down with the full force of its powers." Councillors voted unanimously to approve the plans. Outside the meeting, Dr Stitt said he expected the outcome: "Our experience is that neither body [Stockton Council and Environment Agency] is fast to respond. I would not say I'm optimistic that we will achieve any speedy resolution, but the one safeguard is they will not have the licence restored until they've demonstrated they can achieve the low levels." 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Business Wire
05-08-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
SCH Capital Holdings, Inc. Adds Health Care Compensation Management Technology Capability to Portfolio
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SCH Capital Holdings, Inc., the nation's leading human capital information management holding company for health care and not-for-profit/tax-exempt organizations, has acquired Boston-based Statera. "When we combine Statera's focus on academic medical centers alongside Clinician Nexus's integrated delivery systems expertise, we are able to serve the entire health care marketplace with specialized compensation management expertise in both segments." Formed in 2020, Statera is a group of human-focused compensation experts and health care technologists who provide timely and actionable compensation and care insights to hospitals, medical groups, and clinicians. Statera's platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools that optimize clinical team performance and automate compensation administration. Statera will continue to enable health systems to automate physician compensation through its technology platform as part of Clinician Nexus, a SCH Capital Holdings, Inc. technology company. Together, these combined capabilities will provide health care organizations with a broad mix of technology tools that empower health systems and medical groups to align compensation, productivity, and incentives for their physicians and APPs. 'When we combine Statera's focus on academic medical centers alongside Clinician Nexus's integrated delivery systems expertise, we are able to serve the entire health care marketplace with specialized compensation management expertise in both segments,' said Ted Chien, President and CEO of SCH Capital Holdings, Inc. 'We are excited to join the SCH Capital Holdings, Inc., family and integrate our expertise into the Clinician Nexus brand,' said Amy Jackson, CEO of Statera. 'The company's gold standard reputation and Clinician Nexus's established platform will enable us to reach new markets. Together, we'll be able to deliver the next generation of compensation management technology to a broader audience and make a greater impact across the health care ecosystem.' About SCH Capital Holdings, Inc. SCH Capital Holdings, Inc., is the parent company of independent operating brands SullivanCotter, Clinician Nexus, Lotis Blue Consulting and C3 Nonprofit Consulting Group. This collection of complementary brands helps organizations solve complex workforce issues by enabling people, processes and technology aimed at large-scale business transformation. For more information, email info@ or call 888.739.7039.
Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Two big UK battery storage developers favour zonal pricing
Two of Britain's biggest battery storage developers have come out in favour of regional electricity pricing, despite opposition from their peers who argue that the radical shake-up will deter investment. Gresham House and Statera both told The Times that zonal pricing would cut the costs of operating Britain's energy system, ensuring that batteries were built in the right locations to help deal with surplus wind power. Ben Guest, head of energy transition at Gresham House, operator of the UK's largest battery storage fleet, said it believed zonal pricing was 'an essential step for the UK's electricity system' to help 'motivate investment where it is most needed'. The government is expected to decide imminently whether to ditch Britain's national wholesale electricity price and introduce a system with about seven to twelve regional zones. Prices in each zone would vary depending on the supply and demand balance in the area, ensuring that wind farms in remote locations could not sell their electricity to consumers at the other end of the country if there were not sufficient cables to physically deliver the power. At present the National Electricity System Operator spends hundreds of millions of pounds every year dealing with such cabling constraints by paying wind farms to switch off and gas plants nearer demand to fire up and replace them. Batteries installed near wind farms could address the problem by storing surplus power when it is windy and discharging it in calm weather, smoothing out supplies. However the national market does not always provide the correct price signals: batteries in Scotland might discharge because the national price is high, even if their area is already swamped with power. In a zonal system, the excess power would depress the regional price, encouraging the battery to charge up. Zonal pricing is highly divisive in the energy industry, with wind farm developers and other generators generally opposed and some household suppliers and consumer groups in favour. Guest said Gresham's analysis showed that 'a well-designed zonal pricing system can reduce wholesale energy costs and reduce the need for a lot of the planned electricity network upgrades and associated pylons'. Zonal pricing would 'incentivise energy storage, the cost of which has been falling sharply, to store renewable energy when generation exceeds demand and then deliver it across zonal boundaries when renewable generation is low and constraint limits are not reached', he said. Tom Vernon, chief executive of Statera Energy, which is building Britain's largest battery storage site at Trafford Park in Greater Manchester, said: 'Developing and dispatching batteries in the right locations is critical for cost-effectively balancing the grid. At Statera, we support zonal pricing because it will make the power system more transparent, and provide a clear price signal for the efficient operation and location of demand and generation.' He said he was 'confident that zonal pricing will lower costs in the long run'. However, other leading battery storage developers said they opposed the change. Harmony Energy said it feared that 'the uncertainty created by such a fundamental shift in market design creates an unnecessary risk in relation to investor confidence at a time when the country needs to get on building out critical infrastructure'. And Amit Gudka, chief executive of Field, said zonal pricing would 'slow down investment' and building out the network should be the priority instead of 'tinkering with the market'. Zenobe, another battery storage company, has claimed that even the prospect of zonal pricing has already 'slashed investor confidence and is inhibiting battery build-out', as the complexity and uncertainty of zonal pricing makes it harder to secure agreements to sell power. A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We are considering reforms to Britain's electricity market arrangements, ensuring that these focus on protecting bill-payers and encouraging investment. We will provide an update in due course.'
STV News
25-04-2025
- Business
- STV News
Green hydrogen project granted planning permission by council
A green hydrogen project said to be the largest in the UK has obtained planning approval from Aberdeenshire Council. Statera Energy says the Kintore hydrogen facility could deliver £400m to the Aberdeenshire economy and support the transition of industrial clusters like Grangemouth, as well as providing thousands of jobs. The facility will produce hydrogen through electrolysis, using surplus wind power which would otherwise be turned off to balance the grid. It is initially planned to have a storage capacity of 500MW before scaling up to 3GW. Statera says hydrogen produced at Kintore could be supplied to the UK's most carbon-intensive industrial clusters through existing gas transmission pipelines. The UK-based company says the project will result in around 3,000 jobs during construction and 300 permanent jobs once it is operational. Planning permission in principle was granted by a full meeting of Aberdeenshire Council on Thursday. A report which went before councillors noted the 'significant' impact it would have on the local landscape but said the benefits in offsetting carbon emissions outweighed these. Tom Vernon, chief executive of Statera Energy, said: 'We are delighted to have secured planning approval for Kintore. 'Over the coming years, the sheer volume of wind generation coming on to the system in the UK will make electrolysers critical for harnessing wind energy that would otherwise go to waste. 'Kintore Hydrogen is designed to fully capitalise on the potential that hydrogen has to offer. 'The location and scale of this project means it can make best use of surplus wind power, significantly lowering hydrogen production costs. 'It will help balance the grid, contribute to the UK's energy security, and support the decarbonisation of the UK's hard-to-abate industries and power sector.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
25-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Kintore hydrogen facility in Aberdeenshire approved
The facility will produce hydrogen through electrolysis, using surplus wind power which would otherwise be turned off to balance the grid. It is initially planned to have a storage capacity of 500MW before scaling up to 3GW. Statera says hydrogen produced at Kintore could be supplied to the UK's most carbon-intensive industrial clusters through existing gas transmission pipelines. The UK-based company says the project will result in around 3,000 jobs during construction and 300 permanent jobs once it is operational. READ MORE: Planning permission in principle was granted by a full meeting of Aberdeenshire Council on Thursday. A report which went before councillors noted the 'significant' impact it would have on the local landscape but said the benefits in offsetting carbon emissions outweighed these. Tom Vernon, chief executive of Statera Energy, said: 'We are delighted to have secured planning approval for Kintore. 'Over the coming years, the sheer volume of wind generation coming on to the system in the UK will make electrolysers critical for harnessing wind energy that would otherwise go to waste. 'Kintore Hydrogen is designed to fully capitalise on the potential that hydrogen has to offer. 'The location and scale of this project means it can make best use of surplus wind power, significantly lowering hydrogen production costs. 'It will help balance the grid, contribute to the UK's energy security, and support the decarbonisation of the UK's hard-to-abate industries and power sector.'
