Spanish Abengoa and Japan-based Toshiba have been selected as preferred bidders for developing the 299MW Tees Renewable Energy Plant in Middlesbrough, UK.

Located at the Port of Teesside, the biomass-fuelled facility that produces electricity and steam will be self-sufficient, and also export power to industries and nearby users.

Owned by a subsidiary of UK-based MGT Power, MGT Teesside, the facility is claimed to be the largest biomass combined heat and power plant in the world.

“The facility is expected to generate as much renewable electricity in a year as a 1GW wind farm.”

The engineering and construction contract to be awarded for the facility is likely to exceed €600m, Abengoa said.

The Spanish conglomerate will be responsible for engineering, design and construction of the plant, which will require wood pellets and chips as fuel from certified sustainable forestry resources across the US and Europe.

The project will be developed in compliance with the UK’s criteria for renewable energy.

Once operational, the project will be able to generate nearly 2.4TWh of electricity a year, which is enough to power around 600,000 homes in the UK.

Planned to run 24hr a day year-round, the facility is expected to generate as much renewable electricity in a year as a 1GW wind farm.

It will account for 5.5% of the UK’s renewable energy target for 2020 and reduce around 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in one year.

MGT Teesside has scheduled the facility to start its commercial operations from next year.