However, the firm has claimed that, by taking waste from both Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, the facility would save Bedfordshire £8 million a year and, by using combined heat and power (CHP) technology, it would produce enough power for every household in Bedford.
Plans for our own project to deal only with Bedfordshire waste are already well advanced and are jeopardised by Covanta's announcement
Councillor Tricia Turner
Covanta announced last Tuesday (November 4) that it planned to submit a planning application to BERR and DECC for the plant, at Rookery Pit near Stewartby, which would use Energy-from-Waste (EfW) technology to produce CHP.
Threaten
But, the leader of the soon-to-be-launched Central Bedfordshire unitary authority has claimed the proposals would threaten the county's own proposals to build a 250,000 tonne-a-year, PFI-funded plant – with EfW and CHP as the preferred technology – at the same site.
Councillor Tricia Turner, leader of the shadow executive for Central Bedfordshire – the unitary authority which will be created in April 2009 when Bedfordshire county council and Mid and South Bedfordshire district councils all cease to exist – said: “Plans for our own project to deal only with Bedfordshire waste are already well advanced and are jeopardised by Covanta's announcement.”
Two weeks ago the county council submitted an application to Defra for £110 million in PFI credits for the 250,000 tonne-a-year capacity project (see letsrecycle.com story), with an outline business case including EfW/CHP as its preferred choice of technology.
The Bedfordshire Energy and Recycling (BEaR) project earmarked Rookery Pit as the preferred site for an EfW/CHP facility in October 2007.
Cllr Turner's criticism was echoed by Cllr Tom Wootton, Bedfordshire county council's councillor for waste, who said that “we definitely do not support the announcement from Covanta Energy regarding plans to build an Energy-from-Waste power station in Bedfordshire.”
He added: “This proposal has come out of the blue. We've neither been consulted nor have we sought a proposal of this kind. We have our own well advanced plans for managing Bedfordshire's waste within our own county.”
The company's proposals to process waste from Buckinghamshire at the facility also came in for criticism.
“It's completely outrageous to have this sprung upon us,” Cllr Turner said. “We want people to know that we are prepared to oppose this plan at the highest level. We have assured local people that any such development would not be used to take waste from outside the county and we see the company's attempt to take the decision on this out of local hands as disgraceful.”
And, while Covanta has said that the county council will be a “major and important consultee” for the project, Cllr Wootton said that, when consulted, “we intend to use this opportunity to strongly oppose the proposal and send a clear message to Buckinghamshire that they should manage their own waste.”
Further opposition to the Covanta plans came from Paul Hutchinson of Bedford Friends of the Earth, who said: “Incineration is not the answer to the waste management issues or energy needs of Bedfordshire.
“Covanta Energy is trying to force a massive, inefficient incinerator on us without consulting with local people or authorities, as they know we would oppose their plans,” he added.
Save
However, Covanta claims that it would save Bedfordshire £8 million a year by using the plant to process residual household and commercial waste from both counties if it wins Buckinghamshire county council's £100 million, 25-year contract for residual household waste treatment.
In August 2008 the company was named as one of the two final bidders, alongside Waste Recycling Group, contesting the Buckinghamshire award (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, it claims that with its use of CHP technology, the plant produce enough power for every household in Bedford.
In a statement, Covanta said: “By combining the waste disposal needs of two counties, it is estimated the annual saving to Bedfordshire County Council could be in the region of £8 million a year.”
A spokeswoman for the company told letsrecycle.com that a date had yet to be set for the submission of a planning application.
But, Covanta has said that it hopes to begin work on the facility in 2010 and potentially have it up-and-running by 2013.
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