The partnership of waste management firm Cory Environmental and American incineration specialist Wheelabrator had been chosen as the preferred bidder for the 500million 25-year incineration contract in October 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story). However signing of the contracts had been delayed due to temporary withdrawal of PFI funding from Defra, in the face of local opposition to the plans.
PFI funding
Despite long delays to the project which included a legal challenge from opponents which was overturned in the High Court, environment minister Caroline Spelman announced in January 2012 that Defrawould grant infrastructure credits worth 91 million towards financing of the plant (see letsrecycle.com story).
Speaking to letsrecycle, councillor Bill Borrett, Norfolk county councils cabinet member for environment and waste, said: I am pleased we have got the contract signed because we were still at risk of currency movements making the deal more expensive. In fact we have saved around 16 million by signing the contract now, rather than when it was first agreed.
Getting planning permission and securing environmental permits are the two hurdles that we now have to overcome. Both processes have been started and we wait to see how they will turn out, I would hope them to be finished in the next few months.
The proposed EfW facility would process around 268,000 tonnes of waste per year, and it is estimated that it will provide enough electricity to power around 36,000 homes as well as producing additional steam which can be utilised by local businesses. The facility’s capacity is set to be filled by a combination of residual household waste supplied by the council under the PFI contract, and waste from local businesses.
Cory Environmental chief executive Peter Gerstrom said: We are delighted to reach financial close with Norfolk county council for the most significant waste sector infrastructure investment in the county. This is a major step forward in delivering a sustainable solution to Norfolks waste problem well as creating job opportunities for local people, suppliers and businesses.
We are now working towards securing the planning and permitting permissions. We will also continue to work positively with all statutory authorities and Norfolk residents to ensure that our proposals undergo full and proper scrutiny.
Planning consent
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The plant still requires planning consent before work can begin. A 28-day public consultation on the plans opened on Monday January 23.
Graham Plant, cabinet member for planning and transportation, said: “A planning application was submitted to the authority in June and a public consultation followed. After thorough scrutiny of the application our planning officers wrote to the applicant asking for further information and clarification on a number of points. That information has now been received and it is this that will form the basis of this second consultation.
Contractor Bam Nuttall has been commissioned to carry out construction work on the plant. The EPC contractor for the project is Hitach Zosen Inova.
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