GIB and its investment partner Foresight Group are investing a total of £30 million into the facility, which is being developed by AssetGen Partners, for a total cost of £60 million.
RDF for the plant is to be supplied by waste management firms Biffa and Powerday, which currently send a significant proportion of the RDF that they produce overseas for incineration.
Work on the plant will begin shortly and it is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2017.
The gasification technology, which will treat commercial and industrial waste, will be designed by Biomass Power Limited (based in Stafford), with Bouygues Energy & Services acting as EPC and O&M Contractor.
Funding
GIB, through its fund manager, Foresight, is investing £30m in a combination of shareholder loans and equity with co-investors NOY and P3P providing £20m and £10m respectively on the same terms.
Commenting on the investment, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “This latest investment by the Green Investment Bank in a gasification plant in Hertfordshire will use technology and parts sourced from British companies and create more than 100 local jobs. Renewable energy is the future and when this plant is operational it will power over 7,000 homes each year. The Green Investment Bank is at the heart of our industrial strategy, creating sustainable long term jobs and growth.”
It is anticipated that the plant, which is to be located 22 miles north of London, will create up to 110 engineering, construction and project management jobs and 17 full time jobs once operational.
Shaun Kingsbury, Green Investment Bank chief executive, said: “This first-of-kind, high-technology waste facility signals a new phase in the UK waste management sector. The project is a great example of innovation driven by and backed up by some great UK companies.”
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