Veolia signs 1bn Staffordshire waste PFI contract

Staffordshire county council has today (July 30) officially awarded Veolia Environmental Services its 25-year, £1 billion residual waste treatment and disposal contract – which is set to see a large-scale energy-from-waste incinerator developed in the region.

At an official ceremony, councillors put pen-to-paper on the long-term deal having named Veolia as preferred bidder for the contract in May 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story). The contract is supported by £122.4 million in PFI credits which were awarded to the council in July 2008.

Veolia was named preferred bidder for the deal, which is known as the ‘Waste to Resource' project, ahead of German energy-from-waste specialist MVV Umwelt.

At the core of the contract is the development of a 300,000 tonnes-a-year capacity energy-from-waste incinerator at Four Ashes Industrial Estate near Cannock, which will export around 23MW of energy to the National Grid once it becomes operational.

Staffordshire is set to supply 130,000 tonnes-a-year of residual waste to the energy-from-waste plant, with the remainder being supplied by: Sandwell metropolitan borough council, 60,000 tonnes-a-year; Warwickshire county council, 40,000 tonnes-a-year; and, Walsall metropolitan borough council, 50,000 tonnes-a-year.

Denis Gasquet, chief operating officer of Veolia Environnement and chief executive officer of Veolia Environmental Services, said: “This decision reflects our proven ability to deliver a complete PFI package based on our development and technology expertise.

“We have established a strong presence in Staffordshire and will be working closely with the county council to develop the new facility in line with its environmental objectives and maximise landfill diversion.”

ERF

Staffordshire was granted planning permission to build an energy from waste facility on the site in November 2008, and was given a seal of approval by the Government Office of the West Midlands in January 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Veolia has opted to undertake pre-planning work on revised proposals for the plant, in order to reduce its overall footprint, size and height. And, a new planning application for the plant, known as the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), will be submitted in early August with a view to the building being completed by the end of 2013.

The contract is expected to be worth around £1 billion over its operational lifetime, when it takes into account revenue from the county council, including third party waste and sale of electricity.

Councillor Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire county council, added: “This is a landmark event for the county council as it has signed the biggest ever contract in its history. Veolia went head to head against some serious competitors to win this contract. It was able to offer maximum value and maximum quality to the taxpayer which is our number one priority.

Cllr Atkins said that the contract would save Staffordshire taxpayers “more than £250 million over the next 25 years”. He added: “This contract is all about protecting taxpayers from escalating costs and protecting the environment from mounting piles of rubbish.”