Hertfordshire EfW decision imminent

But, if the Revised Project Plan is ultimately rejected by council chiefs next month, Hertfordshire is set to terminate its arrangement with the waste company at a cost of £1.2 million.

Veolia’s proposed Ryde House incinerator in Hoddesdon will have capacity to treat around 320,000 tonnes of household residual waste per year and is the latest in a string of proposals to site a plant in the county (see letsrecycle.com story).

If accepted, the plant would replace the firm’s plans to build a larger 380,000 tonne capacity plant at New Barnfield – for which planning approval was thrown out by the Secretary of State in summer 2015 after a five-year battle.

In addition to its smaller capacity, the guaranteed minimum tonnage input from the council has been reduced from 180,000 tonnes to 135,000 tonnes per year. Due to the physical constraints at the new site, the facility will not include a front-end materials recycling facility (MRF) as had been envisaged for New Barnfield, and power to the National Grid would also be reduced to 33MW.

The location of the proposed plant at Fieldes Lock is on land owned by Tarmac Aggregates Limited – which has signed an Option for Lease with Veolia and is pending exchange on the council’s decision.

If the lease is approved, the expiry date of the contract, the site and the facility would not be in the council’s control. At the end of the contract period, Veolia would retain Hoddesdon and continue to operate it for the final decade of its 40-year life based solely on commercially-sourced waste.

Gate fee

A report by council officers adds that this would allow for a longer depreciation period for the facility, reflected in a lower calculated gate fee per tonne for Hertfordshire in accordance with the payment mechanism in the contract.

To retain flexibility, the council would be allowed to make a one-off capital investment two years prior to the end of the contract to purchase the remaining term of the lease from Veolia.

Financially the report suggests that Hertfordshire is also set to lose out compared to the original deal, with savings of £667 million expected from the New Barnfield EfW reduced by £217 million due to the loss of PFI credits. However, this assessment was a comparison against the 2010 set of interim disposal contracts – which included a ‘significant’ use of landfill.

It is still envisaged by council officers that Veolia’s plan will result in the lowest cost of residual waste disposal compared to other credible alternatives such as an EfW or RDF solution with multiple suppliers.

This is because the location of Hoddesdon means lower haulage costs, and the council’s commitment to using the majority of capacity creating less risk than a merchant facility.

Meetings

The report will be laid out before Hertfordshire’s Highways and Waste Management cabinet panel on Friday (4 March). If approved, council chiefs will vote whether to accept the Revised Plan or terminate the Veolia contract altogether on 14 March.

Richard Thake, cabinet member for Community Safety & Waste Management at Hertfordshire county council, said: “It is essential that we find a cost effective and appropriate solution to disposing of Hertfordshire residual waste.

“A decision will be made by Cabinet and in the meantime we have interim waste arrangements in place with the option to extend these if required up to the end of March 2021.”