Bioscience energy company EQTEC has pulled out of a land purchase deal in Stockton-on-Tees, opting instead to lease the site.
The firm had been set to buy the site in Billingham to develop the UK’s first sustainable waste plant with landowner Scott Bros Enterprises. However, the firm has now withdrawn from the acquisition and will instead lease the site from Scott Bros.
EQTEC said the new deal would enable the company to recover just over £8m of the £8.6m purchase price agreed with Scott Bros in 2021.
The firm has now agreed to take a one-year option on the land, which at expiration can be replaced with a 25-year lease on the site.
EQTEC chief executive David Palumbo said the new deal would enable the project to progress towards funding and release it from its capital commitments.
“The clean, waste-to-energy plant already consented for the site has the potential to be an anchor facility to support local industry and also a wider range of new technologies and offtake applications that would be valuable additions to the burgeoning, new energy networks in Teesside,” said Palumbo. “This option enables us to turn our attention back to funding and detailed design of the project.”
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