Issue - items at meetings - Harewood Whin Green Energy Park (GEP)

This report provides an outline of the proposed GEP project at Harewood Whin and requests approval to initiate a project business case.

Resolved:

i. Agreed to initiate the Harewood Whin GEP project and the development of a Strategic Outline Case for a preferred way forward.

Reason: To assess the viability and feasibility of the proposed

project, reaffirm the strategic context, and determine a preferred way forward for the project that is financially viable.

ii. Agreed that a Strategic Outline Case will be prepared for the project and presented to the Executive at the conclusion of the first stage of project development (Gateway Review 1).

Reason: To enable the Executive to review the Strategic Outline

Case (business case) and determine whether to authorise the project to proceed to the next stage of project development.

iii. Agreed to initiate governance to assure the project and delegate financial authority for this stage to the Corporate Director of Place to allow the project to proceed to the next Executive decision.

Reason: To progress the project to this next stage, operating

within the £243,500 budget allocated by the MCA.

Officers outlined the proposed Harewood Whin Green Energy Park (GEP) project. They confirmed that the site was not appropriate for housing or farming but had been identified for a green energy park and money from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority had been secured for developing a business case. It was noted that the proposal could deliver enough energy to power 10,000 homes.

The Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency welcomed the report and noted that the proposal to move household waste depot was only a proposal to explore as part of the business case and no decision would be made on this currently. She welcomed the sites potential with sun and wind based renewable energy and the wide set of options to be explored when developing a business case.