Energy from Waste news roundup

Minister approves plans for Worcestershire incinerator

The facility, which will be known as EnviRecover, is being developed by Spanish-owned Mercia Waste Management and will treat household waste for Herefordshire and Worcestershire councils.

Once operational, EnviRecover will provide up to 15.5MW of electricity for distribution to the local grid, enough to supply around 20,000 homes.

Worcestershire county council had agreed the planning proposal for the plant in principal in March 2011, however the issue was referred to Mr Pickles as it involved a development on Green Belt land.

Mercia director, John Plant, said: The Public Inquiry into our proposals to build EnviRecover at Hartlebury Trading Estate was an important step for a facility that is critical for the environmentally sustainable management of waste for the councils. It represents a solution that will be both effective and economically sustainable. We are delighted that the Secretary of State has reviewed the evidence and found in our favour.

SITA gains 200k RDF export permit

Waste management firm SITA UK has been granted permission to supply a further 200,000 tonnes of refuse derived fuel (RDF) to a high efficiency CHP facility in the Netherlands.

SITA UK has been awarded a trans-frontier shipment (TFS) consent from the Environment Agency to transport the material, which is valid until 30 April 2013.

The material will be exported to the HVC facility, in Alkmaar, an R1 rated high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) facility, which produces electricity and provides heat to local households and businesses via a district heating system.

Residual waste will be processed into RDF at SITA UKs sites in Mitcham, Barking and Epsom, where recyclables will be removed and the residual material shredded before being transported in bespoke shipping containers.

This follows the announcement in May that the company had gained approval to export 600,000 tonnes of RDF to supply the AEB CHP facility in Amsterdam the largest RDF export permit to date (see letsrecycle.com story) .

Andy Hill, head of organics and alternative fuels at SITA UK said: We are seeing lots of demand from customers, particularly in the South East of England, who are looking for immediate landfill diversion, so we are delighted to have secured this additional capacity in the Netherlands. Producing RDF & SRF is proving to be a good way to help customers achieve their landfill diversion targets while there is still a lack of recovery facilities in the UK.

DECC releases FITs and RHI details

Climate change minister Greg Barker has announced future arrangements for Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive.

The Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme provides a subsidy for small scale renewable and low carbon technologies, while the RHI scheme provides long term support for renewable heat technologies such as heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal panels.

Following a consultation on the FITs scheme in February, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has revealed that it is introducing a preliminary accreditation system for anaerobic digestion, so developers will be able to know before construction if their facility will be accredited.

Announcing the changes on Friday (July 20), Mr Barker, said: I want to provide long term certainty for those choosing to invest in all forms of small scale green electricity generation, not just solar, and our changes to FITs will do just that.

DECC has set out plans to introduce greater environmental sustainability into the RHI through the inclusion of standards on biomass sustainability in line with the UK Bioenergy strategy published in April 2012. The department is also looking to simplify the metering arrangements for the RHI, reducing the administrative burden on participants and taking views on the scheme from existing applicants into account.

Mr Barker said: The Coalition is fully committed to driving forward investment in renewable heat, and our proposals will make sure we provide the right support for the industry.

Urbaser consults public on Javelin Park EfW plans

A public consultation on a proposed energy-from-waste (EfW) facility at Javelin Park in Gloucestershire has received views from more than 600 people.

The plant is being proposed by Spanish company Urbaser and its partner civil engineers Balfour Beatty under a prospective 500 million, 25-year residual waste contract with Gloucestershire county council, for which the consortium was named preferred bidder in December 2011. The plant would be capable of burning 190,000 tonnes of waste a year.

The Environment Agency is currently consulting on the Environmental Permit application submitted by Urbaser Balfour Beatty, with public drop-in sessions recently held in Quedgeley, Stroud and Hardwicke.

Commenting on the proposal, project director Javier Peiro said: Engaging with the local community is an ongoing commitment for Urbaser Balfour Beatty. We have been pleased with the level of interest in this proposal and are grateful of the opportunity to speak to such a wide range of people about their concerns and aspirations for the facility.

In particular, we have been responding to peoples concerns about traffic, visual impact and emissions, and explaining how these potential impacts will be appropriately managed and mitigated.

Urbaser Balfour Beatty has also submitted a planning application and supporting documents to the Waste Planning Authority, which is running a formal planning consultation on the application. The planning officer will then make a recommendation to the Planning Committee who can choose to approve or reject the application.

Permitted tonnage increase for Eastcroft EfW

The Environment Agency has issued a substantial change to the permit for the Eastcroft energy-from-waste incinerator in Nottingham, allowing the plant to process an additional 40,000 tonnes of waste per year.

The facilitys operator, WasteNotts (Reclamation) Limited, a subsidiary of FCC Environment (formerly WRG) applied to increase the permitted tonnage of the plant from 160,000 to 200,000 tonnes in May 2011.

The changes to the permit will mean the plant can operate for additional days each year and will be able to supply more heat to the Nottingham district heating scheme.

Louise Johnson, the Agencys environment manager, said: In reaching the decision to vary the permit for the Eastcroft energy from waste plant, we have taken into account all relevant considerations, comments from the public and legal requirements. We are now confident that the permit as varied will ensure that a high level of protection is provided for the environment and human health.