LSEP is a joint venture between renewable energy company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and waste management firm FCC Environment.
If the plant’s existing planning consent is varied, it will treat up to 728,000 tonnes of residual waste and export 69.9MW of electricity to the national grid per year.
A spokesperson for LSEP said: “The LSEP is currently under construction. The increase in treatment capacity will not alter the currently approved buildings or structures nor will it change the limits on our environmental emissions, but it will enable us to maximise the efficiency of the facility.
“The increase in treatment capacity will enable us to maximise the efficiency of the facility”
“We’re also looking at how heat from the facility could be supplied to local homes and industry through the development of a district heating network plus we are investigating the potential for electricity to be supplied directly to local businesses through private wire connections.”
If the venture secures approval from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), a Community Fund will be set up to provide £100,000 a year for 10 years to support environmental and low carbon projects in the local area.
Once it has been built, the facility will be operated by FCC Environment.
Throughput
LSEP says the increased throughput will result in a higher number of vehicle movements with more flexible hours for waste deliveries.
As part of the application to vary the consent, LSEP says an environmental impact assessment will be undertaken which will look at the potential impact of the proposals on the environment, including updated transport and air quality assessments.
The application is to be submitted to BEIS in summer 2021, with a decision expected in spring 2022.
Following the submission of the application, another stage of consultations will take place where local people will be asked to submit comments directly to BEIS.
Lostock
The Lostock EfW plant is being developed in accordance with the planning consent secured by Tata Chemicals Europe in 2012 and will replace the old coal-fired power station that was on the site. Tata Chemicals Europe previously headed up the project and remains a partner.
LSEP acquired the project in 2017. CIP and FCC Environment announced that £480 million in funding had been secured to construct the plant in March 2019 and said it was due to be operational in the second quarter of 2023 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Ministers approved a proposal to amend the power output of plant from 60MW to 90MW in July 2019 (see letsrecycle.com story). Back then, the plant had a proposed throughput of 600,000 tonnes of residual waste per year.
Subscribe for free