Work will be starting next week on the new pyrolysis unit on Coder Road. This will replace the experimental biodigester that was closed by Shropshire Council in 2012 in council then led by a climate change sceptic leader. Unfortunately, the biodigester was not properly decommissioned. Shropshire Council just abandoned it.
The new unit will be contained within the existing building with new build towards the A49 to house a wood chipping unit.
This means that two of the tanks, which are to be removed may contain an unknown quantity of biodigestate. Expect noise and smells as they are removed. This will be made worse because of the wholesale removal of the tree barrier on Parys Road by Shropshire Council.
The biochar plant received planning consent in March 2025. An application for a waste licence to operate is currently being assessed by Shropshire Council. However, this licence is not need for construction work to commence.
The first activity will be the decommissioning and removal of redundant material and equipment from the former biodigester use of the site. Specialist professional contractors will undertake this phase. It is expected that this work will cause noise, odour and possibly dust.
Work to install the pyrolysis plant will take place over summer and autumn, with the aim to have the plant operational early in 2026. BioDynamic Carbon Ltd, a joint venture company with Shropshire Council, will operate the plant.
Once operational, the plant is expected to produce around 1,000 tonnes of biochar a year from feedstock such as low-grade arboricultural arisings from managing the many thousands of trees the council is responsible for and from waste from the timber supply industry.
The pyrolysis plant is part of Shropshire Council’s plans to reduce carbon emissions and move Shropshire towards a net zero county. It is new technology and other councils and businesses are showing interest in adopting it. The biochar plant was also a novel project. Around 120 jobs in the Ludlow area were created in the biogas industry after the plant was opened and some continue, including Marches Biogas. I hope that the pyrolysis plant will give a similar boost to local green industry.
It feels as though a weight has been lifted now that the old council has gone.
We can all be hopeful again and look forward to the future.
Thank for all the hard work you put in, without you we wouldn’t have a clue what was going on.