The facility is expected to commence operations in late 2029, with the tender likely being awarded to Viridor.
The Energy from Waste (EfW) site will be run as the Tees Valley Energy Recovery Facility (TVERF) in Grangetown, Redcar.
Ian Preston, installations team leader at the EA, said: “I want to reassure people that the permit will ensure that robust levels of environmental protection are met.
“Environmental law sets out these conditions, and as a regulator we are obliged to issue the permit if we can find no reason that the operator would not be able to comply.”
The TVERF is being developed by a partnership of seven councils across the North East and will serve more than 1.5 million people living and working across the region.
The councils are: Darlington borough council, Durham county council, Hartlepool borough council, Middlesbrough council, Newcastle city council, Redcar and Cleveland borough council and Stockton-on-Tees borough council.
The site is set to have two lines which will handle municipal, commercial and industrial waste.
It is expected to have an annual capacity of 450,000 tonnes.
The granting of the environmental permit was preceded by a public consultation in May this year.
In a statement, an EA spokesperson said: “The Environment Agency only issues permits if it’s satisfied the operator can comply with the permit conditions and has appropriate systems in place to operate the incinerator without causing harm to the environment, human health or wildlife.”
Tender process
The tender process for the site began in 2020, but was delayed due to “global supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty over grid connections for the facility”.
The contract will go to an operator who will design, build, finance and operate the TVERF.
As of February 2025, Viridor is the only remaining tenderer.
Suez, Green Recovery Projects and FCC have all been involved in the tender process at various stages.
The contract for the site is expected to last for 29 years.
The tender process is expected to wrap up soon with the outcome being decided later this year.
The construction, testing and commissioning phase is then expected to begin and is set to take approximately four years to complete.
The site itself has also been granted planning permission.
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