Under the deal, owner Rank Recycling Scotland (RRS) will supply and transmit waste heat from its 6.2MW CHP facility free of charge to a biomass boiler at the council’s nearby development in order to “ensure the buildings containing the new plant and technology are maintained at ambient temperature”.
Notice of the contract award, published online last week (September 22), reveals the contract did not go out to tender with prior notice in the OJEU because, the council states, RRS “are the only organisation in Dumfries who are capable of providing low grade waste heat” to the development.
The council, which is obliged under law to explain ‘in a clear and comprehensive manner’ why it did not publish a tender notice, also states: “Given the value of the contract is zero there is no possibility that another provider could provide waste heat to the site due to transmission losses and current inability.”
According to the council, the Dumfries Zero Waste Park is expected to begin construction in February 2015 for 18 months at a site close to the former Lochar Moss landfill site.
The development will include: a transfer station for recyclable materials collected at the kerbside; a household waste and recycling centre (HWRC); a reuse centre; a visitor centre; a biomass plant; an an optical recycling facility for undersize material; and a ‘near infra-red’ recycling facility for oversize material.
Council documents explain that low grade heat from the RRS plant “can be cooled through a heating system around the Zero Waste Park providing a valuable free heat source whilst increasing the energy efficiency of the waste to energy process”.
RRS
RRS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polish property investment company Rank Progress, was set up earlier this year to redevelop and operate the former £20 million Scotgen energy-from-waste (EfW) gasification plant at Dargavel Stores on Lockerbie Road (see letsrecycle.com).
The Scotgen plant was Scotland’s first such facility to use batch gasification technology when it was officially opened by MSP Mike Russell in August 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
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However, the facility closed after it was hit by a fire in August 2013, which led to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) revoking the plant’s license and EfW firm Scotgen going into administration in October 2013.
SEPA stated that the plant, which could eventually process 60,000 tonnes of merchant hazardous and non-hazardous waste per year, had “consistently failed to meet any reasonable expectation of environmental performance”.
A subsidiary of Manchester-based Ascot Holdings Limited, Scotgen’s business and assets at the Dargavel site were subsequently acquired by RRS, but the reopening of the plant is now subject to planned changes and permitting approval from SEPA.
Dargavel plant
RRS is currently working on upgrading the facility and is preparing a new environmental permit application, which requires it to consider and include details of heat offtakers – one of which is set to be the nearby Zero Waste Park.
RRS said that specific details of the deal between the council and RRS were still being discussed, but that the council would be taking on the cost of sending the heat from the CHP plant to the Zero Waste Park.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Lloyd Brotherton – project director at RRS and formerly of Scotgen – explained that while there was the possibility of securing contracts and income from other heat offtakers in future, for now it was important to demonstrate there was a market and use for the waste heat by providing it to the council free-of-charge.
He said that the company was in “final preparations” and discussions with SEPA over submitting a new permit application for the plant, adding that the delay in acquiring a new permit was due to the administrator of Scotgen still holding control over the plant’s permitting, which he said was “not helping time-wise”.
Mr Brotherton said: “RRS are pleased to have this opportunity to work with D&G on this project. We look forward to developing further heat uses in the local area, to the benefit of business efficiency and the environment.”
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