Under the agreement, GDF SUEZ Energy UK, sister company to waste management firm SITA UK, will buy all of the electricity generated by the Allerton Waste Recovery Park, which will process around 320,000 tonnes of household and some commercial waste each year.
The plant, which is currently under development, is expected to be operational by around 2018, with GDF SUEZ Energy UK contracted to buy up to 208GWh of electricity annually once it begins treating waste.
News of the deal comes shortly after the plant was awarded £183 million in financial backing from the European Investment Bank and the UK Green Investment Bank following the withdrawal of PFI funding for the project.
The plant is being developed by Spanish-owned AmeyCespa as part of a £1.4 billion, 25-year deal with North Yorkshire and City of York councils for the treatment of residual waste. The contract was originally agreed in 2010, with PFI support from Defra.
Funding
However, this PFI funding was withdrawn in early 2013, after Defra had concluded that the project would no longer be needed to meet 2020 landfill diversion targets (see letsrecycle.com story).
But, the two councils decided to press ahead with the plans in September (see letsrecyle.com), after concern about financing the contract following Defra’s PFI funding withdrawal.
Situated at the Allerton quarry and landfill site between Harrogate and York, the development will include the thermal treatment EfW plant as well as an 8GWh anaerobic digestion (AD) facility to treat 40,000 tonnes per year of garden and food waste and mechanical sorting and reclamation of 20,000 tonnes a year of recyclable materials left in the waste arriving at the facility.
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