Drakelow Renewable Energy Centre
An EfW facility based upon Gasification technology. The Drakelow REC site is near Burton Upon Trent on the site of an old demolished coal-fired power station. The plant has a permitted capacity of 169,000 tonnes a year and is operated by Vital Energi.
The facility receives pre-processed residual waste in the form of RDF, by road[1][3].
Site Details
| Operator | Vital Energi |
|---|---|
| Site | Drakelow Renewable Energy Centre |
| Size | Medium |
| Permit No | GP3031JB |
| Plated Capacity | 169 |
| Status | Operational |
Plant Description
The plant comprise three lines of a gasification based grate system supplied by Biomass Power Ltd (the same technology as Belfast Harbour).
The plant is designed to genrate 18MWe with 15MWe exported ot the grid[3].
The plant had been in extended commissioning since 2023 but from a recent funding article it appears to have entered operation around the end of 2025[4].
History
Originally developed by Future Earth Energy, the project reached financial close with Vital Energi in February 2020.
Vital Energi took the project forwards and acted as the operator[1].
The plant is designed to run on up to 169,000 tonnes of RDF supplied exclusivily by Beauparc (now Panda).
