The developers of an energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Wiltshire have said they will be changing the technology to be used in the plant from gasification to “a conventional moving grate combustion process”.
Northacre Renewable Energy Limited – a joint venture between the Bioenergy Infrastructure Group (BIG) and The Hills Group– says the move is “primarily due to supply chain uncertainty caused by Brexit”.
However it also pointed to “new regulations that mean that gasification facilities no longer offered advantages on the same stringent air quality requirements that new moving grate combustion technologies also need to meet”.
An artist’s impression of the 243,000 tonnes per year capacity plant
After having a previous application turned down (see letsrecycle.com story), Northacre Renewable Energy was granted permission for an EfW plant for Wiltshire last year using gasification-backed technology.
However it will be submitting a fresh application in July to reflect the change in technology
An NREL spokespeson said: “Moving grate technology is tried and trusted – it is in use in 90% of the UK’s 48 fully operating energy from waste facilities and over 400 EFW facilities across Europe.”
The Hills Group is a Wiltshire-based company with business activities including waste management, quarrying of aggregates and building new homes.
BIG invests in a number of energy facilities across the UK, including the Hull Energy Works facility, Evermore Renewable Energy and Birmingham Bio Power.
Plant
The £200 million proposed plant will have the capacity to process 243,000 tonnes of commercial and household waste each year, “much of which will be collected locally”.
“Moving grate technology is tried and trusted – it is in use in 90% of the UK’s 48 fully operating energy from waste facilities”
While the facility on the Northacre Industrial Estate near the town of Westbury is comparable to the original scheme, the technology related changes mean that fresh planning approval is required.
Covid
The facility is expected to have a generating capacity of 25.6MW and produce around 200,000MWh/year, enough to meet the average annual domestic power requirements of just over 48,000 homes.
Once operational, the facility will support 40 permanent, skilled jobs, the company said. During the construction phase, at peak activity, there will be around 450 construction workers employed.
NREL said the development would help to boost Wiltshire’s economy following Covid-19.
A spokesperson added: “At a time of significant economic uncertainty, the Northacre facility represents a £200m investment in Wiltshire’s economy and source of employment including highly-skilled permanent roles”.
The post Wiltshire EfW to move away from gasification appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
