Wheelabrator Technologies has announced it has reached financial close for a 200,000 tonnes per annum energy recovery facility in Flintshire, North Wales.
The facility will treat waste on behalf of five Welsh local authorities – Conwy county borough council, Denbighshire county council, Flintshire county council, Gwynedd council and the Isle of Anglesey county council.
Artist’s impression of Wheelabrator Parc Adfer
With construction to start in January 2017, the £180 million facility will be built on a former steelworks site at the Deeside Industrial Park.
The site has been named Parc Adfer to reflect how it will help North Wales recover energy from its non-recyclable waste – Adfer meaning to ‘recover’ or ‘restore’ in Welsh.
Wheelabrator Parc Adfer will be a combined heat and power plant which will generate 18.8 MW (gross) / 16.6 MW (net) of electricity – enough to power over 30,000 UK homes and businesses. The plant will use moving grate technology and will also be capable of providing steam or heat to local industry and housing.
The facility will also feature storage and processing capacity for the treatment of incinerator bottom ash (IBA).
“To achieve financial close is a significant milestone and I’m extremely proud of our team for making this possible,” said Wheelabrator president and chief executive Robert Boucher. “This is the result of six years of hard work and negotiations, and I’m excited to welcome our third UK facility to our global fleet.”
The facility was awarded planning permission by Flintshire county council in May 2015 and an Environmental Permit by Natural Resources Wales.
Fuel supply
Wheelabrator will operate the facility over the next 25 years as a public-private partnership (PPP), with support from the Welsh Government, to serve the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project’s five local authorities.
Residual waste fuel for the facility will be provided primarily by the five authorities, who initiated the procurement to achieve their long-term targets for recycling and diversion of waste from landfill.
A further long-term contract is in place with a waste management company, ensuring that over 70% of the facility’s fuel supply is hedged at fixed prices. The remaining capacity at the facility will be offered to commercial waste collection companies.
Construction
According to Wheelabrator, the construction phase is expected to result in hundreds of additional jobs and create around 35 new, full-time operational roles at the facility when plant operations commence in 2019.
Wheelabrator’s UK managing director, Paul Green, said: “The Parc Adfer facility is an example of our ongoing commitment to investing in new and necessary energy recovery infrastructure across the UK.
“We remain focused on developing our pipeline for growth and building long-lasting relationships with the five North Wales authorities and commercial waste companies across the UK. We’re committed to bringing our experience and industry expertise to Wheelabrator Parc Adfer and delivering a facility of the highest safety and operational performance standards.”
Finance
The project is financed with a 23-year term loan from the Green Investment Bank, MUFG, Natixis and Siemens, with an equity bridging loan provided by Barclays.
The Green Investment Bank (GIB) committed £35m of senior debt to the construction of Wheelabrator Parc Adfer.
Edward Northam, head of Investment Banking at GIB, said: “Parc Adfer is likely to be one of the last local authority waste PPP projects to reach financial close in the UK, bringing a 20-year programme to an end and ushering in a new era of waste infrastructure financing.
“Investors are already turning their attentions to the opportunities presented by new merchant infrastructure, which we believe could require up to £3.6 billion of additional funding by 2020.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
