The Secretary of State has granted the DCO for the Slough Multifuel application, for further details and links to the related documentation, please click here.

Our DCO Application has now been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate for examination, click here to view the Application Documents.

The Slough Heat and Power Plant, located on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire, was acquired by SSE in January 2008.

In August 2018, decommissioning and demolition works began to facilitate the development of a new ~50MW energy-from-waste facility, known as Slough Multifuel, at the site.

Part of the existing Slough Heat and Power Plant remains operational and continues to supply energy, water and heat to local customers.

In April 2020, SSE Thermal entered into an agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to develop the new Slough Multifuel facility as a 50:50 joint venture.

The facility will produce electricity and heat through burning waste-derived fuels made from various sources of municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, and waste wood.

Construction of Slough Multifuel, which commenced in May 2021, is being undertaken by specialist EPC contractor HZI. Construction is expected to take approximately three and a half years.

See below for latest construction update and Stage 2 Consultation.

Slough Multifuel Extension Project

The existing planning permission for the Project, granted by Slough Borough Council in May 2017, allows the Multifuel Plant to generate up to 50 megawatts (MW) of electricity. We are now seeking to increase the efficiency of the Plant so that it can generate up to 60 MW of electricity. Because we want to increase the generating capacity of the Multifuel Plant to more than 50 MW, we need to obtain development consent from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Development consent is granted in the form of a Development Consent Order (DCO).

The application for development consent has now been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate who will administer the process on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Application Documents which submitted to the Planning Inspectorate can be downloaded below. The final decision on whether to grant a DCO is made by the Secretary of State at the end of the examination period. You can find out more about the DCO process on the Planning Inspectorate website.

July 2023 DCO Update

The Development Consent Order (DCO) Examination Phase for the Slough Multifuel extension project concluded in June 2023, and is currently under consideration by the Planning Inspectorate.

In accordance with the statutory timescales for DCO applications, a decision as to whether to grant a DCO is anticipated from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in late-December 2023.

Assuming the DCO is granted the work to increase the efficiency of the power plant currently under construction will commence in January 2024 and will take less than 2 months to complete. The works will be delivered in parallel with the already consented construction activities minimising impact and delivering benefits in advance of completion of the original project.

DCO Application Documents

Stage 2 Consultation - Now Closed for Comments

Following on from the project's Stage 1 (informal) Consultation, we held a further Stage 2 Consultation to seek views of the local community and other stakeholders on our more developed proposals and assessments for the Project. The Stage 2 consultation for the Slough Multifuel Extension Project ran from Thursday 5 May until 5pm on Friday 17 June 2022. 

Responses to feedback are currently being compiled by our project team.

Completed image of the Multifuel Plant

An image of the completed Slough Multifuel Extension Project

Previous Updates

Documents relating to previous construction updates can be viewed below.

Additional Documents:

Newsletter

Frequently Asked Questions 

EIA Scoping Report 

Press Release – O&M Contract Awarded July 23

Contact us

Rachel Fox

Stakeholder Engagement Manager

+44 7467 652088

[email protected]