Suez UK has said that its delayed Eco Park facility in Surrey is nearing completion after the facility’s gasifier accepted its first waste.
The Eco Park is a collection of facilities designed to manage waste from Surrey households.
The Charlton Lane Eco Park, pictured in July 2018, will be run by Suez on behalf of Surrey council
It includes an anaerobic digestion facility to treat 40,000 tonnes-a-year of food waste and a gasification plant to treat 55,000 tonnes-a-year-of residual waste from homes in the north of the county. Suez is developing the plant under a 25 year contract with Surrey county council.
This week (October 30), Suez confirmed that work on the plant, which has been subject to a number of delays, was “progressing well.”
Hot commissioning
A spokeswoman for SITA Recycling and Recovery UK told letsrecycle.com: “I can confirm that work on the plant is progressing well and we are now in the hot commissioning phase for both the AD facility and the gasification facility.
“The first waste was accepted into the gasifier on 22 September and commissioning has continued according to plan. Commissioning of the turbine generator is ongoing with synchronisation to the grid due on 11 November.”
In terms of timescale, Suez revealed that the facility is expected to become fully operational in the next few months.
She commented: “We are aiming for handover on the AD facility in Q4 of 2019 and in Q1 2020 for the gasification facility.”
Build
The waste company confirmed that construction of the Eco Park, which is being carried out by contractor M+W, has been subject to delays (see letsrecycle.com story ), it was “doing everything we can to deliver it at the earliest opportunity without compromising on the safety or quality of the build”.
The spokeswoman added that one complexity during construction had been the existence of a co-located household waste recycling centre and transfer station on the site at Charlton Lane in Shepperton, which has remained open.
“We are doing everything we can to deliver it at the earliest opportunity without compromising on the safety or quality of the build”
She added: “The commissioning process is essential to ensure the plant operates correctly and within acceptable standards, as such the facilities will not be handed over until they are fully tested and signed off.”
Site
A progress report issued by Suez earlier this month revealed that food waste was first introduced to the site’s anaerobic digestion plant in mid May 2019.
Then, on 22 September the first waste was fed into the gasifier which Suez described as “an important milestone for the project.”
Meanwhile, Suez said that work on the administrative building on site is almost complete and landscaping had begun.
It also noted that it had appealed a planning decision by Spelthorne borough council to decline consent for a controversial entrance sign at the front of the facility and was awaiting a decision.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
