Peel plans £70m Trafford power plant

Peel Group has unveiled plans for a £70m renewable energy power plant in Trafford.

The 20MW biomass plant, on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal by Barton Bridge, will be fuelled using recycled wood, agricultural and forestry waste and energy crops.

The plant would provide enough energy to power around 37,000 homes, a third of the total in the Trafford borough.

More than 100 jobs could be created during the plant's two-year construction phase.

It is expected that a planning application will be submitted to Trafford Council in the autumn.

If planning permission is given, work could commence in early 2012 with the plant generating electricity by mid-2014.