In brief: Energy-from-waste contract news

Lots to report on the energy-from-waste (EfW) front this week, with major infrastructure due to come on-stream across England, Scotland and Wales over the next three years.


FCC Environment has won a 30-year contract worth £275m to build and operate an EfW facility at Greatmoor on behalf of Buckinghamshire County Council.

The 300,000 tonnes per annum plant will process both household and commercial waste, generating 22MW of electricity, enough to power up to 36,000 homes.

The contract will be signed off at the end of this summer, before construction begins. The facility is due to be operational by 2015.

North of the border in Scotland, Viridor will build a renewable energy centre as part of a 25-year residual municipal waste treatment contract with Glasgow City Council.

The centre will comprise advanced facilities for recycling, anaerobic digestion and energy recovery by gasification and will process up to 200,000 tonnes waste per annum.

The project requires capital investment of approximately £160m by Viridor and the plant will be built by Interserve as the EPC contractor. Planning application for the centre will be submitted towards the end of this summer with it due to come on-stream in early 2016.

Meanwhile Covanta Energy has received preliminary accreditation under the combined heat and power quality assurance (CHPQA) programme for its 95MW EfW facility located at Ince Park in the north west of England.

In order for the plant to claim renewable obligation certificates (ROCs), Covanta needs to acquire two separate accreditations; firstly under the CHPQA programme through DECC and secondly under the RO scheme through Ofgem.

Covanta has received accreditation under the CHPQA programme and received dual certification. Certificate one provides access to benefits such as enhanced capital allowances and climate change levy exemption. The second certificate ensures ROC eligibility.

Lastly, in Wales, law firm Burges Salmon have advised Gwynedd Council on a pathfinding PPP contract with BiogenGreenfinch on an 11,000 tonne anaerobic digestion (AD) facility at a former landfill site at Llwyn Isaf.

When operational the AD plant will generate 3,500 MWh per year of renewable electricity and will start treating the council’s food waste in 2013.

It will be the first AD facility in Wales specifically designed to take local authority source-segregated food waste and has the potential to generate enough electricity annually for around 750 homes.

Maxine Perella

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