BUSINESSMAN BILL McCabe's alternative energy operation has got planning permission for a €45 million facility in Cheshire in England.

Dublin-based Bedminster International said yesterday that Cheshire County Council has given it the green light for a bioenergy facility at Northwich.

The plant will process 150,000 tonnes of waste a year when it is up and running.

The project is a joint venture with a local player, Organic Waste Management.

Mr McCabe, who began his business career with software developer Smartforce is the majority shareholder in Bedminster through his investment vehicle, Oyster Capital.

New York-headquartered merchant bank Goldman Sachs is one of the company's other backers. Bedminster is based in Dublin and has offices in London and Boston.

It owns the worldwide rights to technology originally developed for use in the US, Australia and Japan that separates waste, and converts organic waste to "green" energy and compost.

The company's chief executive, Pearse O'Kane, said yesterday that every 1000,000 tonnes of waste that it processes was the equivalent of taking 36,000 cars off the road.

The Cheshire development will be its first operation in the UK. However, its partner is well established in the area, with businesses that serve domestic and commercial customers.

Organic Waste Management's chief executive, Mike Brookes, said the company planned to seek business from the commercial and domestic sectors, and would be "discussing" the project with local authorities in the north of England.

In a statement yesterday, Bedminster said its technology is used in 12 facilities worldwide and processes one million tonnes of waste every year.