A WASTE-TO-ENERGY scheme that could deliver green electricity to 11,000 homes has moved a step closer after planners gave it the green light.

In March Wilton-based Earthly Energy said it was bringing a £6m anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to the Middlesbrough site vacated by bio-fuels firm D1 Oils when it pulled out of Teesside in 2008.

Now BF Oils Ltd, a subsidiary of Earthly, has received planning consent for the facility, which it says will be up and running by June next year.

Originally the company had hoped to have the plant operational by September this year.

But extra modelling work has had to be carried out to demonstrate that the scheme will not damage the environment.

Earthly, which has been named as the preferred contractor on two other biogas schemes in Lancashire and South Yorkshire, said it was seeking to build a supply chain that would provide raw materials for the Teesside plant.

General manager Yotta Karanicolas said: “As more and more legislation forces manufacturers, farmers and other producers to dispose of waste responsibly, we would be delighted to work together to provide a sustainable solution.

“With this in mind, we welcome an approach from members of the local farming and waste disposal industries.”