MVV receives green light for its first UK incinerator

The companys UK subsidiary, MVV Environment, has received planning permission from Plymouth city council to build a combined heat and power plant at Devonport Docks which will form the centrepiece of its long-term waste contract with the South West Devon Waste Partnership (SWDWP).

The contract, worth in the region of 796 million, was signed between the SWDWP and MVV Environment Devonport Ltd in March 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story) and represents MVVs first major waste contract win in the UK. It will see MVV handling residual waste on behalf of SWDWP members, including Torbay council, Plymouth city council and Devon county council.

The combined heat and power (CHP) incinerator will have the capacity to handle up to 245,000 tonnes of residual waste a year. It will be situated at the North Yard of the Devonport naval base in Plymouth which will be supplied with steam and electricity under a 25-year energy services agreement with the Ministry of Defence.

Construction is due to start on the plant this year and it is expected to be operational by mid-2014.

Guarantee

MVV have guaranteed to divert 97% of the councils residual waste from landfill with an estimated carbon saving of 70,000 tonnes per year.

The SWDWP has secured 95 million in PFI credits from the Department of Environment, Rural and Food Affairs (Defra) to assist with the funding of the project which is expected to see MVV invest approximately 220 million. The partnership hopes the development will provide significant economic and environmental advantages to Devonport Dockyard and wider Plymouth sub-region.

Mark Turner, SWDWP project director, said: This is a vitally important and much needed project for Plymouth and the south-west Devon area. We welcome the planning committees decision which should now allow the project to proceed to construction and we will continue to work with the local community to address any ongoing concerns they may have.”

MVV

MVV is required to adhere to a S106 obligation as a condition of the planning permission being granted which will see MVV make a financial contribution to enable low carbon infrastructure to be developed in the city as well as addressing issues of public concern such as traffic flow and the monitoring of emissions from the plant.

MVV first said it would be targeting UK work in October 2008 and it is aiming to become one of the major contractors in the UK EfW market (see letsrecycle.com story).