The first EfW to be approved under the Development Consent Order in 2011, the long-awaited Rookery South facility near Stewartby will process up to 480,000 tonnes of municipal and commercial residual waste per year from the surrounding area.
Covanta describes the plant as being ‘centrally located’ to provide a ‘strategically advantageous position’ – stoking speculation that feedstock could include waste from Greater London and parts of the Home Counties. The facility could also tie-in with Veolia’s ambition to strengthen its presence in the South East of England.
The plant, which will be combined heat and power (CHP) enabled to allow for future district heating projects, is expected to generate 50MW of power for the National Grid and will create up to 50 permanent jobs.
Despite some opposition to the plant, The Rookery South EfW achieved planning consent five years ago due to its classification as a nationally significant infrastructure project.
FCC
Among the project’s chief critics were FCC Environment, which unsuccessfully challenged the Development Consent Order in 2013.
While it is understood that FCC owns rights to some of the land, at the time it was also thought that the large facility would impact on the area’s waste management market – in which FCC and Covanta were competitors (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, shortly after FCC lodged its appeal, Covanta announced it was seeking to pull out of the UK. The decision followed its failure to secure a major £1.2 billion contract with the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority – which instead handed the 30-year deal to a consortium led by Suez (see letsrecycle.com story).
Veolia
Covanta’s decision to join forces with Veolia to revisit the Rookery South project will interest many in the UK waste sector. According to a new website unveiled today, the facility will combine ‘Veolia’s waste capabilities and local presence and Covanta’s operating abilities’.
In the coming months, the project team will work to achieve final approvals and complete project financing while also engaging with stakeholders and consultees and reconvening a community liaison panel.
“We are pleased to have found a partner in Veolia that will help us develop this important growth project”
Matthew Mulcahy, senior vice president
Covanta
It is anticipated that construction will start by late 2017 with the facility becoming operational in 2020.
Welcoming the project development agreement, Matthew Mulcahy, Covanta senior vice president and head of Corporate Development, said: “We are pleased to have found a partner in Veolia that will help us develop this important growth project. The facility will provide a vital outlet for the sustainable disposal of residual waste and deliver clean, renewable power to the grid. It will also be designed to export steam to support a local district heating system or additional economic development projects.”
Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive vice-president at Veolia UK & Ireland, added: “This project will contribute to increased landfill diversion and will help the UK meet its carbon reduction commitments. The scheme will also create direct employment and boost the local supply chain as well as helping meet our future energy needs.”
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