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Construction work commences at Rivenhall 

Construction vehicles have arrived at the site of the proposed Rivenhall energy from waste (EfW) project in Essex, operator Indaver announced yesterday (6 July). 

Looking out on to the construction site at Rivenhall

Indaver will design, build and operate the EfW plant, which will be built in the footprint of an existing quarry at  Rivenhall.

The plant will have a capacity of 595,000 tonnes per annum, generating 49.9 MWe and is expected to have a significant impact on residual waste flows in the London and Essex region. In particular it could attract tonnage which currently goes for RDF treatment on the continent and to landfills in the Essex area.

Indaver said it would “offer a local solution for non-recyclable residual waste which until now has been disposed of in regional landfills or exported abroad for treatment”.

Gareth Jones, Indaver’s UK business development manager, looking out on to the construction site at Rivenhall

‘Actively engaged’

Indaver’s UK business development and commercial director, John Ahern said: ‘’Following the commencement of works on Woodhouse Farm in January 2020, this is the second substantial contract placed.

“In addition, HZI who have been working on the project for a number of years have now been appointed as preferred bidder for the EfW part of this integrated waste management project. We are actively engaged with the market for waste supply contracts and look forward to welcoming customers to our latest waste treatment solution in 2025.’’

Soil

The construction vehicles mark the start of site development works for the plant.
Over 1.4 million cubic metres of soil is set to be moved to prepare for the construction of the production buildings, which is due to commence in early 2022.

This is the first phase of a four-and-a-half-year construction programme, with the EfW plant set to be operational by the end of 2025.

Local company, Tom Blackwell Contractors Ltd, are tasked with excavating and moving the soil to prepare the site for the access road and facility to be built, a process that is expected to take up to a year.

The plant is being built on the site of a former quarry

The soil will be used to restore other parts of the quarry and the concrete from on-site structures is also being recycled and used on site.

Indaver

Indaver currently has facilities and operations in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal. The company is developing waste treatment infrastructure in other European countries, including the UK.

The Rivenhall project is Indaver’s third large scale project in the United Kingdom, the company said. It is also the last remaining bidder for the £240 million arc21 local authority residual waste treatment project in Mallusk, Northern Ireland which is due a planning decision this year. In 2019 the contract to operate a local authority EfW facility in Aberdeen, Scotland was awarded to Indaver. It is now under construction and due to be operational in 2022.

To the north of Dublin, Ireland, Indaver already runs a 240,000 tonne EfW facility and intends to build a similar operation in Cork, in the South of Ireland. “Building this facility will allow Ireland to acquire a state-of-the-art treatment facility that will offer a sustainable solution for the non-recyclable residual waste produced in the region,” the company said.

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