Former power station equipment to be sold to support circular economy
The redevelopment of Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station in Warrington will not only provide new much-needed homes and jobs, it will also help to boost the circular economy with the auction of second-hand equipment and assets.
After 50 years as a coal-fired power station, Fiddler’s Ferry was decommissioned in March 20 and bought by Peel NRE in June 2022 to help drive investment into Warrington and surrounding towns.
Peel NRE’s 10-15 year masterplan for the 820-acre brownfield forms part of the draft Warrington Local Plan and will provide energy efficient housing and up to 250 acres of employment space alongside new parkland and wildlife areas.
Material from the eight 115m high cooling towers will also be repurposed onsite once they are demolished, while all the remaining plant, machinery and inventory from the power station complex itself will be made available for sale at auction on 15 February and during 2023 by negotiation for re-use across several industries.
Peel NRE, specialists in natural resources and energy, have commissioned specialists to handle the sale: Hickman Shearer a leading independent capital asset valuation, management and used equipment sales company, and CA Global Partners CAGP, industrial auctioneers who operate worldwide providing equipment management and capital recovery solutions in technology, finance, and industry. Both are highly experienced in projects of this kind.
“This is a textbook regeneration project for others to follow,” said Dan Main of CAGP. “Not only will it create new homes and jobs for the local community, but the way in which assets are being redistributed will help offset a significant carbon footprint of a site that has been dependent on fossil fuels for half a century.”
In general terms, the inventory can be divided up into valves, motors, transformers, power generation components and support equipment as well as hand tools, machine tools, lifting equipment and more.
“All of this inventory and equipment can be repurposed, some by the power industry but the rest by other industries, such as ports and the marine sector, as well as by wider manufacturing concerns,” says Dan Main.
“While our objective is to realise optimum value for our client, we also want to ensure that as much of this equipment as possible goes on to further productive use, which should contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of this site as it undergoes its transformation towards future community prosperity,” says Tim Chapman of Hickman Shearer, who will oversee private treaty sales for specialised equipment.
“All of this shows how a market-leading sustainability programme can come out of a long-standing brownfield site,” says Tim Chapman.
Kieran Tames, Peel NRE’s Director of Development, added: “It’s important to us that we reuse, repurpose and recycle as much as we can from the former power station to help keep our carbon footprint to a minimum, and as well as going to auction with machinery from the site, we’ve already donated some items to local charities and plan to donate more soft furnishings, office, canteen and kitchen equipment as we progress through the demolition.”
The auction will take place from 10am on February 15, 2023, with the catalogue being published online at www.fiddlersferrysale.co.uk.