These early stages will see “detailed” design and preliminary construction works take place.
The site is intended to generate energy in the form of electricity and steam from over 500,000 tonnes of non-recyclable municipal, commercial and industrial waste annually. The company said the facility will have a generating capacity of over 50 megawatts (MW).
MVV’s managing director, Paul Carey, commented: “After several years of development we are starting our Medworth project with design and preparatory works. These include vegetation clearance and preparatory construction work in the next few months whilst, in parallel, satisfying the relevant planning conditions.”
The project is being managed by Medworth CHP which is following a “multi-contract approach” – with the main contract being awarded to global contractor Kanadevia Inova. Other contracts for the project will be awarded further along the project timeline.
Medworth EfW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Project
MVV announced that it had received development consent for the Medworth EfW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) project in February last year.
The permit for the Medworth site was originally approved on 20 February, then repealed and reinstated on 27 February.
The original project proposal was for a facility with a maximum gross capacity of 58MW and a maximum operating capacity of 625,600 tonnes per annum.
However, an EfW ban meant that its Environmental Permit was delayed until May 2024 when the ban ended.
The ban, made under regulation 62 of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, was a response to growing environmental concerns and calls for a reassessment of the country’s waste management strategies.
It applied to applications received on or before 4 April and was in place until 24 May.
In October last year, MVV announced that it had acquired a nine-acre orchard in Wisbech ahead of the construction of the plant.
MVV’s managing director, Paul Carey, said at the time: “We are working with our ecologists to develop a long-term organic management plan. We want to improve the hedgerows for wildlife, create new habitats instead of having a single crop growing, and allow the soil to recover and support a greater variety of native wildflower species.”
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