News

Sleaford REP, and its owners Greencoat Capital, sponsored the Contribution to a Better Environment Award at this year's North Kesteven Community Champions Awards, organised by NKDC. The award winner was Tomas Dickson, for his hitter picking throughout North and South Hykeham, as well as his involvement with the River Witham Rivercare group, Freshwater Watch, Hykeham in Bloom, Sleaford Navigation Trust and Lincs Wildlife and Rivers trusts. In addition, Tomas surveys the extent of Himalayan Balsam, plants trees, seeds wildflowers, builds bug hotels, monitors river-flies and tests water quality within his many wide-ranging environmentally-minded actions.

Runners up for the Environment award were Carol Hubbard of Ruskington and Nancy Baker of North Hykeham.

Details of all the award winners and finalists , including the virtual award ceremony can be accessed by visiting http://nkawards.org

BWSC, the O&M contractor at the Sleaford REP, is recruiting for a Mechanical Maintenance Technician. Reporting to the Maintenance Manager, the successful candidate will form part of the Maintenance Team and will be responsible for the mechanical maintenance, breakdown activities and coordination of 3rd party suppliers. The successful
candidate will receive a competitive basic salary, life cover, a contributory pension and 25 days holiday per annum. More details about the job and how to apply, please visit BWSC Mech Tech Advert (001) Sept 2020

The Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant, which uses straw and woodchip to generate renewable electricity for homes and businesses in the area, has awarded its first grants from its £125,000 Community Power Fund.

The Sleaford Renewable Energy Community Power Fund, which was established earlier this year, is giving money to the Ewerby Village Reading Room to upgrade the hall’s electrics and to Heckington Methodist Church to support the upgrade of its community hall that is heavily used by local groups, including local Scouts and Brownie/Guides groups.

Both applications were approved by an independent panel, consisting of local councillors from North Kesteven District Council, representatives of the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant, and two people who live and work in the local area – the Reverend Philip Johnson, the Vicar of Sleaford and Rural Dean, and Caty Collier of Volunteer Centre Services NK. The panel is chaired by Councillor Mervyn Head of NKDC.

The Community Power Fund was set up by the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant, which since the start of June 2020, is owned by Greencoat Capital. The Power Fund is seeking to build upon the success of the power plant’s previous community benefit programme, which supported a range of environmental, education, sporting, cultural and community projects between 2014 and 2019, within Sleaford and the parish of Kirby la Thorpe.

Cllr Mervyn Head, Chairman of the funding panel, said: "The Renewable Energy Plant has become an integral part of the daily life in North Kesteven and it plays an important part in reducing the carbon footprint of the District. We look forward to a continuing close relationship with Greencoat Capital, the new owners of the plant.

“I’m very pleased that the new panel was able to meet – virtually of course but in full accordance with our constitution – to determine our first grants which will make a significant difference to the fortunes of these two valuable community facilities and enable them to progess their plans as soon as they are able.”

The Power Fund, which is administered by North Kesteven District Council, has been set up by the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant to support local groups within a five-mile radius of the plant, and is happy to receive individual applications for up to £5,000. The Power Fund will be allocating £25,000 per annum over the next five years.

For more information about the Fund, please visit: https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/residents/living-in-your-area/localism-your-community/community-funding/ or contact the Partnerships Team at North Kesteven District Council on 01529 414155 or email [email protected]

Greencoat Capital LLP (“Greencoat”) has completed the acquisition of Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant in Lincolnshire from Glennmont Partners. The investment was made with funds from RPMI Railpen (“Railpen”), the investment manager for the £30bn Railways Pension Scheme, and Greencoat Renewable Income (“GRI”), the diversified fund, with commitments from UK Corporate and Local Government Pension Schemes.

The transaction represents Railpen’s first investment partnership with Greencoat, the UK’s largest renewables sector-focused investor, with approximately £5.0 billion under management. Greencoat will operate Sleaford with involvement from investors on strategic matters.

Sleaford is an operational 39 MWe renewable CHP plant, which uses a blend of straw and sustainable woodchip to generate renewable power and heat. The plant benefits from well contracted Government-backed cashflows 2.0 ROCs per MWh and has circa 15 years of ROC life remaining.

Located within the ‘Grain Belt’, in Lincolnshire, the plant provides a reliable route to market for straw, an agricultural by-product which can represent an additional income source for local farmers. Heat generation by the plant is provided to the local swimming pool and other community facilities and the plant has recently signed a new community funding agreement with the council.

Sleaford is the second biomass plant acquired and operated by Greencoat following the acquisition of the Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in November 2019 continuing Greencoat’s advance into the bioenergy sector. This is the fourth investment of Greencoat’s recently launched diversified private markets fund, Greencoat Renewable Income LP. The acquisition reflects the appetite of UK pension schemes seeking predictable, secure income cash flows for renewable infrastructure assets.

For Railpen the purchase diversifies the Long-Term Income Fund’s holdings in a portfolio focused on asset-backed investments in real estate and infrastructure. To date the fund’s renewables assets have been concentrated in wind and solar investments, the most recent of which were last year’s acquisitions of Tralorg Wind Farm, in South Ayrshire, and Carraig Gheal Wind Farm, in Argyll and Bute.

Minal Patel, Partner at Greencoat Capital, said:
“Sleaford is a high-quality asset that will deliver predictable cashflows and significant inflation protection over the long term, helping our clients meet their liabilities. It also plays an important role in the area, supplying sustainable heat to local community facilities and providing arable farmers with a reliable offtake for their excess straw. We look forward to assuming stewardship of the plant as part of our strategy to build our portfolio of diversified renewable energy investments.”

We are once again supporting the annual NK Community Champion awards which recognise people who make a difference to communities and people’s lives in North Kesteven. We are sponsoring the category: Contribution to a Better Environment.

Now in their tenth year, the awards celebrate the hundreds of people who volunteer their time to help others in North Kesteven. The awards recognise those unsung heroes who work quietly, tirelessly and voluntarily in the District; and will be presented in October at an event at the International Bomber Command Centre.

Across the ten categories, North Kesteven Council hopes to attract a broad range of nominations to showcase the immense levels of community endeavour that goes on within the District.

North Kesteven Council Leader, Councillor Richard Wright said: “These awards are a great opportunity, not only for us to thank all those unsung heroes from across North Kesteven who day in, day out, all year round help our communities to flourish but for you as well. I encourage everyone to think about the people in their communities who go above and beyond and to nominate them in recognition of their kindness, thoughtfulness and community-spirited generosity in support of others."

For more information, visit: https://www.nkawards.org

A new £125,000 Community Power Fund has been launched by Glennmont Partners, the owners of the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant.

Admnistered by North Kesteven District Council, the new Fund will support projects and organisations (not-for-profit) within a 5 mile radius of the power plant. The Fund will allocate £25,000 per annum over the next five years, and grant up to £5,000 per application in a single year.

Representatives of the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant (including John Cole of Natural Power - the station manager), the local community and NKDC councillors are members of the Community Power Fund Panel (see photo). Councillor Mervyn Head of NKDC chairs the seven person Panel.

For a project to be supported by the Community Power Fund, it must meet the following objectives:

Cover one of the following: the environment, sport, wellbeing and education.
Encourage community cohesion to build stronger communities.
Benefit the community/group by supporting activities and projects that bring wider community benefit.

The locations eligible to apply for funding are Anwick, Asgarby & Howell, Ashby de la Launde, Aswarby & Swarby, Aunsby & Dembledy, Burton Pedwardine, Cranwell, Culverthorpe & Kelby, Dorrington, Ewerby & Evedon, Great Hale, Heckington, Helpringham, Kirkby la Thorpe, Leasingham & Roxholm, Little Hale, North Kyme, North Rauceby, Osbournby, Ruskington, Scredington, Silk Willoughby, Sleaford, South Kyme, South Rauceby, Swaton, Threekingham and Wilsford.

For more information about the Fund, please visit: https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/residents/living-in-your-area/localism-your-community/community-funding/

or contact the Partnerships Team at North Kesteven District Council on 01529 414155 or email [email protected]

Members of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust have had a birds-eye view of the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant. They saw the inner workings of the renewable energy plant - from the delivery and checking of straw bales, through to their burning within a boiler that converts water to superheated steam and which drives a turbine to generate electricity for local homes and businesses. The group also met some of the people working at the plant, and learnt how the plant is encouraging flora and fauna to flourish within the perimeter of the plant.

The Sleaford Renewable Energy Plants hosts tours of the plant on a monthly basis. For more information, please email [email protected]

We've just hosted a second group of swimmers from Sleaford's Leisure Centre. As part of our plant tour programme, the swimmers went behind the scenes of our power plant. They saw how we take delivery of straw that is used to generate renewable electricity into the local grid and how the excess heat that is produced is used to heat the town's Leisure Centre and its swimming pool as well as other sports facilities in the town, the William Alvey primary school and the North Kesteven's Council building - free of charge, just one of the many benefits that the plant brings to the local community.

The plant tour programme is open to any bona fide community group as well as local school groups (Year 7 and above). Groups are limited to 12 people. If you are interested in registering for a slot in 2020, please contact Paul Taylor via [email protected] for further information.

A Level Geography students from Spalding School recently visited the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant.

It was an opportunity for the students to see how the plant generates renewable electricity, using straw as the main fuel.

The A Level Geography specification includes a topic called Earth’s Life Support Systems, which focuses on developing a broad knowledge and understanding of the Hydrological and Carbon cycles. As part of this, students learn about the impact of the use of fossil fuels on the atmosphere and climate, as well as considering ways to mitigate these issues. Renewable energy is studied and what better way to aid understanding and help students to remember the content, than to visit a working biomass energy plant.

Sullivan Smith, one of the Spalding students who visited the plant, said: "We were welcomed in and given a tour of the plant, where we saw how straw and hay is used on a mass scale as a fuel to produce electricity and hot water. The electricity produced would be enough to power the whole of Sleaford; however, it is fed into the National Grid for all users. The hot water produced goes to heat Sleaford swimming pool as well as providing space heating to local council buildings."

“It was a very useful and interesting trip” said fellow student Bryn Richards. “It helped us to see that there are plenty more ways to produce electricity than burning fossil fuels and I would recommend it to any other student who is given the opportunity to go in the future.”

Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant recently hosted members of the Sleaford Early Morning Swimming Group. It was an opportunity for members of the group to see the plant in operation, meet members of the Sleaford REP team and learn more about how the plant generates renewable electricity into the Grid, whilst delivering the excess heat that it produces to Sleaford Swimming Pool and other civic and sports buildings in the town. The heat is supplied by the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant free-of-charge, and is part of the power station’s long-term support to the local community.

David Stark of the Sleaford Early Morning Swimming Group said: “The tour round the plant was very good and informative, taking us through the whole process from the moment the straw arrives. It was great to see how the plant actually heats Sleaford Swimming Pool, something that our group and other users of the pool benefit from on a daily basis.”

Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant hosts visits from bona fide local community groups every month. If your group would like to visit the plant, please email [email protected]