However, the company is till waiting for planning permission for the proposed park which would include an incinerator and a materials recycling facility. The waste management company submitted its planning application in October 2001 but due to public opposition a decision has not yet been made.
A spokeswoman for SITA said: “There are three main requirements needed to build the park: a waste management contract, which we have; planning permission, which we are waiting for to go to committee; and a permit which is what we recently applied for to SEPA.”
The spokeswoman stressed that the two applications, for planning permission and the PPC, operate independently of one another: “Granting of the permit does not mean the facility can be built.”
The proposed energy from waste plant has an annual capacity of 160,000 tonnes per year. Using moving grate technology, the plant will have an average electrical output of 12 megawatts per hour, enough to power 20,000, or a fifth, of Aberdeen homes.
The waste will be non-hazardous from industrial and commercial sources as well as municipal waste from SITA's 25-year waste management contract with Aberdeen city council. SITA has estimated that the facility will divert 90% of Aberdeen's waste from landfill.
The MRF will be capable of handling 13,000 tonnes of recyclables a year.
A statement from SEPA said of the application for a permit: “There is obvious interest from those in the communities close to the site of the proposed plant. SEPA wants to ensure that they have easy access to information about this application, and SEPA's role and responsibilities.”
For more information on SITA's application for a PPC permit, visit the SEPA website.
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