The company will be allowed to burn tallow until December 2005

In February, SembCorp Utilities (UK) was given permission to carry out a five-week trial at its Wilton power station, near Redcar.

Now the Environment Agency has given the company the go ahead to burn tallow until December 2005.

A drop-in session is being held to discuss the issue with the public.

The five-week trial ended in April and in June SembCorp submitted a report on the trial for the Agency to consider whether the company should be given permission for its plan to burn 100,000 tonnes per year.

Negligible risk

The Agency's review of the trial results concluded there were reduced emissions of sulphur dioxide when burning the tallow instead of burning oil or coal and other emissions were at levels that would not cause any significant environmental harm.

It said measurements taken supported the Agency's previous conclusion that the risk of potential BSE infectivity from burning the tallow is negligible.

Agency regulatory officer David Tarttelin said: "We have now reviewed all the conditions used for the trial and put in place for the long term burn those conditions that we consider necessary to provide ongoing protection for the environment and human health."

The tallow is from cattle culled as part of the over 30 month scheme, put in place by the then Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food in 1996 to support the beef market in the UK in the wake of the BSE outbreak.

The drop-in session will be held at Coathham Primary School, Redcar on 25 August between 1600 and 2000 BST.