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A pioneering Sembcorp green energy initiative has received the royal seal of approval.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York, who is the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, visited the £64 million Sembcorp Biomass Power Station on Thursday as part of a four hour tour of the Wilton International site on Teesside.

The royal visit was hosted by Sembcorp Industries’ Group President and CEO, Mr Tang Kin Fei and Sembcorp UK’s Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Dr Paul Gavens.

Sembcorp’s biomass approach is at the forefront of the battle against climate change, with the new station saving up to 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year compared to a conventional fossil fuel powered station of a similar size.

Responsible for promoting international trade and encouraging inward investment in the UK, the Duke received a presentation about Sembcorp outlining the integrated nature of the operations of the major international firms on the near 2,000 acre Wilton International site, where more than £1 billion has been invested in new and existing assets in the last ten years.

His Royal Highness said: “Sembcorp is contributing greatly to the development of green energy in this country. It’s hugely important that we find new, innovative ways of battling climate change and I wish Sembcorp every continued success in its work in this field. ”

The Duke’s tour also included the Sembcorp Protection team headquarters, where he visited the Major Emergency Control Centre and talked to employees and managers about the effective management of incidents at an operational, tactical and strategic level.

He was then given a dramatic demonstration of the firepower of Sembcorp’s main firefighting and chemical spill protection vehicle, the world class ‘Liquidator,’ which has the capacity of around 12 conventional fire engines, delivering up to 6,000 gallons a minute of water or foam onto a target from a distance of 100 metres.

Commenting on the visit Mr Tang said: “It is an honour to host this prestigious visit and we are delighted that the Duke is able to see our first investment in the UK and Europe at such close quarters. We hope to use the success of Sembcorp UK as the model and the springboard for further investments.”

Dr Gavens said: “We are at the forefront of industrial utilities and services in the UK and the skills, expertise and commitment of our workforce is second to none.”

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ABOUT SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES

Sembcorp Industries Ltd is a leading utilities and marine group. The Group provides centralised utilities, energy and water to industrial and other customers in Singapore, the United Kingdom, Asia and the Middle East. It is a global leader in marine and offshore engineering and also a provider of environmental and industrial park management services in the region. Sembcorp has total assets of over S$8.7 billion and employs more than 6,700 employees. Listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange, Sembcorp is a component stock of the Straits Times Index and several MSCI indices.

Note to Editors:

Following a recent company rebrand, please refer to the company as “Sembcorp” (with “S” in upper case and “c” in lower case), or “Sembcorp Industries” in full. Please also note that “Sembcorp” is not an abbreviation of “Sembawang Corporation” but a brandname in itself, and it is therefore incorrect to refer to our company as “Sembawang”, “Sembawang Corporation” or similar.

ABOUT SEMBCORP UK

Sembcorp UK is one of the largest privately-owned industrial utilities and services providers in the UK. Owned by the Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries group, it currently operates two power stations, a water treatment facility and other substantial assets on the Wilton International site and is also actively looking to expand its business to other major sites in the UK and throughout Europe.

The Sembcorp Biomass Power Station uses four sustainable forms of wood as its fuel in generating more than 30MW of electricity. The 300,000 tonne a year wood total includes recycled wood, forestry logs, wood from sawmills and specially grown coppice. It became the UK’s first large scale ‘wood-to-energy’ plant when it was opened by the Energy Minister, Malcolm Wicks, in November last year.

Wilton International is one of the UK’s most important manufacturing locations. Situated in the North East of England it has an excellent infrastructure and logistics, holds special development status and is home to a number of the world's leading chemical and manufacturing companies.