Ineos Chlor receives green light for 300m EfW facility

The key concern of impact on public health will be properly addressed through planning conditions at the construction stage and when the station is operational

 
Malcolm Wicks

The approval enables chemical firm INEOS Chlor Ltd to construct a combined heat and power plant in Runcorn, which will be able to burn up to 850,000 tonnes of refuse derived fuel a year to produce up to 100MW of electricity and 360MW of heat annually, fulfilling up to 20% of the company's on-site power needs.

The plant is will take solid recovered fuel from across Greater Manchester (see letsrecycle.com story) – meaning that the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority could finally be in a position to sign its long-awaited PFI deal with preferred bidder Viridor/Laing.

The facility will also have the capacity to potentially take material from Merseyside, Halton, Cheshire and Warrington.

BERR's approval comes despite health concerns raised by residents and Halton borough councillors earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Wicks said: “It's important that we move forward in tackling the UK's waste problem. The proposed plant will make use of local waste for the production of energy rather than contributing to the UK's landfill.

“While acknowledging that this proposal was controversial locally, this approval takes into account the concerns that were raised. The key concern of impact on public health will be properly addressed through planning conditions at the construction stage and when the station is operational, through the environmental permitting regime regulated by the Environment Agency,” he added.

Consent

Alongside section 36 consent, applicants are required to obtain planning permission, which has also been approved in this case.

In July 2007, the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority revealed plans to sent solid recovered fuel produced from 600,000 tonnes of residual waste a year through mechanical biological treatment and anaerobic digestion to the proposed Runcorn facility (see letsrecycle.com story).

A consortium between Ineos Chlor and waste management firm Shanks has also been shortlisted for Cheshire's £1 billion PFI contract, which is still yet to move to the preferred bidder stage (see letsrecycle.com story).