The application, published for consultation by the Environment Agency today (27 January), sets out FCC’s plans for a plant in the area if it were to win the upcoming procurement process with seven North East councils.
The procurement process, the winner of which was due to be announced last year before being delayed, saw Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton join forces to procure a contractor to design, build, operate and finance a facility.
Letsrecycle.com reported in December 2020 that Viridor, Suez and Green Recovery Projects, formed when FCC Environment sold 49% of its EfW portfolio to Icon, were in the running for the contract, which could be worth £2.1 billion (see letsrecycle.com story).
The proposed ERF will have the capability to export electricity and heat
- FCC Environment
Permit
The permit application explained that the facility will take both municipal and commercial waste and the maximum throughput would be 560,640 tonnes per annum assuming a 24/7 operation.
It will also be a combined heat and power plant, capable of generating a nominal 49.9 megawatts of “low carbon and renewable energy”.
An associated waste transfer station will also provide storage capacity for waste during shutdown of one or both of the proposed incinerator lines.
Contract
Hartlepool borough council is heading up the procurement process and, while the winner of the contract still has not been announced, the council has noted the “significant pressures” the contract will place on budgets when it comes into effect in 2026/27.
A report which went before the council yesterday said: “This joint approach will secure economies of scale. However, the current contract inherited from the former Cleveland council, provides a significantly lower cost than current market conditions, which means there will be significant budget pressures. This cannot be quantified at this stage as the procurement process has not reached the necessary stage.”
Currently, four Tees Valley authorities – Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees – have a residual waste contract with Suez, with most residual waste treated at Haverton Hill.
The French-owned waste management company operates four EfW process lines in Teesside, divided between two facilities at the same site, known as Suez Tees Valley (STV) 1, 2 & 3 and The North East Energy Recovery Centre.
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