Plans to develop a low carbon waste to energy facility at Teesside, estimated to cost a total of £300 million, have been given the green light.

The subsidy-free Redcar Energy Centre, set for completion in 2025, is expected to divert between 350,000 tonnes and 450,000 tonnes of waste per year from UK landfill.

That would generate up to 49.9MW of low carbon electricity for the local grid – enough to power more than 100,000 homes.

The planning permission includes consent for the development of a Material Recovery Facility, adjacent to the Energy Centre, which will have the capacity to process and recycle up to 200,000 tonnes of municipal, commercial and industrial waste annually, extracting valuable metals for recovery.

The project, which is a joint venture led by Low Carbon Ltd and PMAC Energy Ltd, is expected to employ more than 400 workers during the 36-month construction phase and require more than 100 full-time positions once operational.

Roy Bedlow, Founder and Chief Executive of Low Carbon said: “The 49.9MW subsidy-free Redcar Energy Centre will use proven conventional technology to provide a reliable source of controllable energy for more than 100,000 homes. It will divert more than 350,000 tonnes of waste away from landfill, add flexibility to the fuel and recycling supply chains and provide hundreds of jobs to an area with a proud industrial heritage.

“Low Carbon is delighted to bring forward our third consented waste project in the UK and to use our experience in developing large-scale renewable and low carbon energy projects to help deliver this project in the Tees Valley.”