E.ON unveils 240m waste facilities plan for arc21

If approved, the plans will see a consortium of E.ON Energy from Waste and equity firm EQT Fund treat waste from across the 11 councils in the East of Northern Ireland which form arc21.

The consortium has called itself the Becon Consortium. Becon plans to build an energy from waste plant alongside a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility, an ash treatment facility and a refuse-derived bale store.

The publication of the plans comes as the latest stage in a project which has seen ongoing changes at bidding level, with the numbers of competitors reducing to one; SITA withdrew from the process in March 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).

In December 2012 it was announced that EQT would become the majority owner of E.ON Energy from Waste, with it to take a 51% stake. The remaining 49% will be held by E.ON. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013, subject to final approval.

Irish firm Greenstar Holdings was originally in the running alongside E.ON, but has since entered receivership.

The project is subject to the successful completion of both public procurement and planning processes. If successful, it is hoped the facilities will be fully operational within four years of securing planning permission and closing the deal. At the end of the process, arc21 can decide to award the contract to Becon or look at other options.

Quarry

According to E.ON, the site at Highway Quarry on Boghill Road, near Mallusk, was chosen as it is centrally located in the arc21 area and has good connections to the primary road network and the national grid. Arc21 added that the active industrial quarry site is of sufficient size to absorb the scheme and lends itself to visual screening and noise shielding. The project will also include a visitor centre.

The site will export 14 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, enough to power more than 30,000 homes. It is hoped the facilities will enable to the councils to meet their landfill reduction targets and increase recycling rates across the area by up to 10%. A public consultation on the plans has been launched.

Exciting

Ian Smith, project director for the Becon Consortium, said: This is a very exciting project which will see Northern Ireland catch up with the rest of Europe in ensuring we view waste as a valuable resource. Not only will it address the European imperative to divert our waste from landfill, but this project will ensure we extract the maximum value from the remaining non-recyclable black bin waste to generate much needed renewable and sustainable energy.

We believe we are proposing the best available technology solution in the most suitable location to manage arc21s waste in a more environmentally responsible and sustainable way. In doing so, we will maximise the value from waste using proven technology and processes that will be regulated by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in compliance with strict EU permits.

Mr Smith added that as the project will introduce the technology to Northern Ireland Becon are expecting a number of questions and issues to be raised, which he hopes will be addressed in public consultation.

Commenting on the project, Ricky Burnett, policy and operations director at arc21, said: The proposals from the Becon Consortium, being unveiled today, are in response to our ongoing procurement to provide this infrastructure. They contain a mix of technologies and facilities which satisfies our requirements and is at a site which is well located for a development of this nature. It will significantly reduce our dependency on landfill and contribute to improving the security and diversity of energy production in Northern Ireland.

The 11 councils in arc21 are: Antrim borough; Ards borough; Ballymena borough; Belfast city; Carrickfergus borough; Castlereagh borough; Down district; Larne borough; Lisburn city; Newtownabbey borough; and North Down borough.

Contract

According to the contract advert published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the waste management deal is set to run for between 20 and 40 years and centre on the development of a range of waste treatment technologies.

When advertised, the project details were that a successful bidder for the contract will be expected to design, build, operate, maintain and/or finance two mechanical biological treatment facilities with the joint capacity to process 400,000 tonnes of municipal waste-a-year, as well as an energy-from-waste plant with a capacity of up to 370,000 tonnes a year.

While they will be focused on processing municipal waste, all three plants will have the potential to take commercial and industrial waste, subject to agreement with the partnership, including up to 180,000 tonnes of the EfW facility’s capacity.