Helius looks to pot ale power in new Moray biomass plant

HELIUS Energy, the Aim-listed developer of biomass energy plants, is looking at a number of potential developments in Scotland.

The company, in which Scottish entrepreneur Angus MacDonald is the largest shareholder, is working on a joint venture with Scottish distillers in Rothes, Moray, to build a 40 million plant.

Helius Energy's chief executive, Adrian Bowles, said the company is in detailed negotiations with equipment suppliers for the new plant, with construction planned to begin later this year.

He also said the company is in the early stages of discussions with landowners on other possible sites for plants in "both the east and west of Scotland".

The Middlesbrough-based company yesterday released final results for the year to 30 September 2009 showing a loss before tax of 3.97m compared with a pre-tax profit of 30.67m in 2008, when the company received the proceeds from the sale of a generation plant in Stallingborough in Lincolnshire to RWE Innology.

As well as the Rothes site, the company has submitted plans for a site at Avonmouth, Bristol.

The company currently has net cash of 14.73m.

Construction of the Rothes plant is expected to take around two years.

The combined heat and power facility will use a combination of waste from the distilling process and woodchip from sustainable sources to generate 7.2 megawatts of electricity, enough for 9,000 homes, which can be used onsite or exported to the National Grid.

As well as generating electricity the plant will also produce a concentrated organic fertiliser.

The Combination of Rothes Distillers was founded in 1904 to process the pot ale – the residue left after the first distillation, used as animal feed and fertiliser – produced by the whisky distilleries in the Rothes area.

It is owned by Edrington Group, Chivas Brothers, Glen Grant Distillery Ltd, Inver House Distillers, Diageo and Benriach Distillery Co.

Angus MacDonald – a Perthshire businessman who founded publishing business eFinancial Group before it was sold for 81m – holds just over 17 per cent of Helius, together with his wife. The company has a market capitalisation of 20m.