The facility, which was officially opened in a ceremony by Scottish minister Mike Russell, took Manchester-based Ascot Holdings two years to construct and will be operated by the company's energy and waste subsidiary Scotgen.
Explaining the significance of the site, Andy Carey, facilities manager at the Dumfries site, said: “There are a lot of planning applications about but nobody has actually taken a hold of the reins and said that we are actually going build one. Speaking to numerous councils we found that the majority are looking to develop mechanical biological treatment (MBT) alongside a thermal treatment plant.”
Fifteen thousand tonnes of material treated at the facility will be solid recovered fuel (SRF) sourced as part of a ten-year-deal with waste management company Shanks Group. Shanks operates a MBT facility called Ecodeco less than a mile from the Scotgen site under its 25-year, waste management PFI with Dumfries and Galloway council.
Feedstock
The Scotgen plant is intended to cater primarily for hazardous – or ‘special' – materials. Mr Carey said: “It is mainly hazardous, dry solid material with a high calorific value sourced through arrangements with waste contractors handling ‘special' waste, such as food waste, tyres, inks, rubbers and heavily contaminated food packaging.”
The facility is built on a three-acre brownfield site and is set to begin operations with two lines processing 40,000 tonnes-a-year capacity. The third line, increasing the capacity by 20,000 tonnes to limit under the licence issued by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, is due to come on line next year.
Mr Carey also said that the plant also “fits in nicely” with the Scottish Government's Zero Waste plans, which have outlined a 25% cap on energy-from-waste as part of its ambitious plans to boost recycling in the country to 70% by 2025.
Plans
Scotgen are set to operate the facility as a merchant plant, although it has said there has been a “great deal of interest” from local authorities to use the facility and the company is in discussions with firms about using the heat generated at the site.
Incinerator bottom ash produced during the thermal process is intended to be sold into secondary markets, such as building materials and aggregates.
Ascot sees the Dumfries site as its “flagship plant” and currently has planning permission for five sites throughout the UK all for combined heat and power facilities with capacities between 60,000 and 80,000 tonnes-a-year. The proposed facilities are all designed and located to complement nearby MBT facilities and municipal waste arising.
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