Indaver (UK and Ireland), the company behind plans for a £240m Recycling and Energy from Waste (EfW) Facility in the Hightown Quarry, Mallusk to meet the residual waste needs of six Northern Ireland councils has received a permit from the UK Environment Agency for their first EfW facility in England at Rivenhall, Essex. This will allow them and their development partners Gent Fairhead & Co Limited to begin construction on the 49MW EfW plant later in 2020 representing an investment of over £370 million.
The development in Essex will be the second such facility in the UK for Indaver, the Belgian headquartered waste management specialist which already operates waste recovery, recycling and treatment facilities in more than 30 European locations across Belgium, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy and Portugal. They will also operate an EfW facility, which is currently under construction in Aberdeen, Scotland to meet the needs of the local authorities in northeast Scotland. Alongside this, the company are progressing plans for the Becon project, an integrated waste management solution in Northern Ireland to meet the needs of arc21, the waste management body representing six local Councils in the east of Northern Ireland. This strategic public infrastructure project has been in development for over 12 years and is currently awaiting a planning determination by the Department for Infrastructure. The project was the subject of an independent Planning Appeals Commission hearing in 2017 which recommended approval.
The Essex facility, larger than the one planned for Northern Ireland will contribute to climate resilience and net zero carbon targets by diverting biodegradable waste from landfill and from export abroad, thereby reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and by producing renewable energy. It will also contribute to the circular economy through maximum recovery of energy and valuable materials such as metals and aggregate from waste.
The 49 MW EfW facility will generate enough electricity to power over 60,000 homes and will compliment recycling efforts made by the local community and therefore benefit the facility’s surrounding area. The development will also provide significant employment opportunities in construction and operation.
Speaking about the development John Ahern, Executive Chairman, Indaver UK and Ireland said; “We are delighted to reach this important milestone which will now enable us to progress our first development in England. It represents another important step in our overall growth plans for both the UK and Ireland market, designed to deliver sustainable waste management solutions which maximise the value from our waste. The latest ambitious UK and European Circular Economy waste targets present a significant challenge for all countries to reach landfill diversion and recycling targets and highlight the need for additional Energy from Waste capacity if they are to be achieved. As a result, we are focused on investing in the delivery of sustainable and safe waste management solutions across the UK and Ireland which help address critical circular economy and decarbonisation targets here.”
Ends.
For further information please contact:
Kieran Donnelly, Morrow Communications
Tel: 07769702275
Notes to Editor
- Indaver currently manages over 5 million tonnes of waste each year across Europe and employs more than 1,700 people.
- As well as its plans for the UK including Northern Ireland it is currently planning to develop a new EfW facility in Cork and has expansion plans for its existing EfW facility in Meath to include generation of hydrogen for mobility and industrial use.
- Northern Ireland currently recycles about 50% of its household waste. That leaves a requirement to manage the remaining 50%, approximately 500,000 tonnes of residual waste per annum. The need for residual waste infrastructure is set out in the arc21 Waste Management Plan which is endorsed by arc 21’s constituent councils, democratically mandated to act on behalf of their residents. In response to the public procurement, launched in 2007/8, the Becon Consortium developed plans to co-locate a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant and an Energy from Waste (EfW) plant using an incinerator with energy recovery process and a Visitor Center at the Hightown Quarry site on the Boghill Road, Mallusk. The site was identified as suitable location for the facilities envisaged in the public procurement and the proposed technology configuration, meets both the requirements of the public procurement and all the relevant statutory authorities.
- The Becon project will divert up to 250,000 tonnes of municipal waste from landfill or export per year and contribute to Northern Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions targets by the reduction of approximately 57,500 tonnes CO2 Equivalent per year relative to sending waste to landfill. It will also enhance Northern Ireland’s security of energy supply and increase diversity of energy production by exporting 18MW electricity to the National Grid – enough to power in excess of 30,000 homes.
- The proposed £240m inward investment is estimated to support around 340 permanent direct and indirect jobs when the plants are operational and create or sustain 2,701 direct job years of employment. This employment is projected to support c.£58m of additional wages in the economy. When factoring direct, indirect and induced impacts, total benefits from the construction phase could amount to the creation or sustainment of 6.045 job years, £122m of wages and £215m of Gross Value Added. Ongoing direct benefits from the operations at the site are estimated to create c.100 jobs and add nearly £3m of wages into the local economy.