 Deal: BGE managing director Ignatios Mavromatidis (left) with Compact Power chairman Nic Cooper and chief executive John Acton (right) finalising arrangements for the Avonmouth plant |
The company has run out of patience with the Demonstrator Programme, warning that time is running out to demonstrate its gasification technology before many local authorities take long-term decisions on their waste treatment.
Under Defra's Waste Implementation Programme, the Demonstrator Programme was launched two years ago with the aim of establishing 10 plants to demonstrate the use of at least four new treatment technologies to divert waste from landfill.
The first five plants were to be set up by the end of 2005, with a further five up and running by the end of 2006.
However, so far a single Demonstrator Programme plant has been opened – the Greenfinch anaerobic digester in Shropshire earlier this month (see letsrecycle.com story).
Partner
Rather than wait any longer for its Defra decision, Compact Power has now gone ahead with partner company Balkan General Engineering of Greece in securing around 20 million for the gasification plant proposed for Avonmouth.
Compact Power business development manager Richard Hogg told letsrecycle.com: “It's just been dragging on and on. Obviously it hurts us commercially, because we need to get a move with this, we are concerned that if we don't get the plant up and running, we are not going to be able to demonstrate it in time for local authorities to make their decisions.”
The company already has planning permission for its gasification plant, which will take in more than 28,000 tonnes of municipal waste from Bristol city council. The new plant will be set up beside Compact Power's existing small pilot gasification plant.
” We can't afford to wait any longer – there is enormous interest in this plant, and Bristol city council is going wild because it is part of their diversion plans. “
– Richard Hogg, Compact Power
Defra
Mr Hogg said his company was unsure why Defra was dragging their feet over the Demonstrator Programme, and that it had been difficult to get in touch with officials over the matter. Defra's only response to his company's queries had been that the Department was engaged in “due diligence” concerning the projects, he said.
Now that funding has been secured, the Avomouth plant is now expected to be up and running by autumn 2007, with only its pollution prevention and control permit still to gain from the Environment Agency.
“The main thing is the timing in all this,” he said. “We can't afford to wait any longer – there is enormous interest in this plant, and Bristol city council is going wild because it is part of their diversion plans.”
The Avonmouth plant is being built as a combined heat and power facility – it will “cook” waste to produce a fuel gas that is then burned at high temperature to generate electricity and heat. The facility will be able to generate 3.6MW of electricity and 15MW of heat, which will be used by local industry.
Funding
Funding for the new Avonmouth plant has been achieved by establishing a limited liability partnership between Compact Power and BGE, the principle contractor. The funding will come via BGE from Liechtenstein–based Firona Stiftung.
Vice president and managing director of BGE, Ignatios Mavromatidis, said: “We strongly believe that the Avonmouth project will lead very quickly to a programme of waste and biomass projects and we look forward to promoting the technology in Greece and the Balkans and the other markets in which we have a presence.”
Second line
Mr Hogg revealed that the company also has planning permission to establish a second line that would double its capacity so that it could treat 60,000 tonnes of waste each year. This expansion depended on the success of the first line, he said.
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Compact Power has not withdrawn from Defra's Demonstrator Programme. If Defra does decide to provide funding, the plant will process only municipal waste.
Should the Defra funding not come, however, Mr Hogg said about 2,000 tonnes of the input would be clinical waste – both to “improve the economics of the process and to show the range of wastes this technology can use”.
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