Work on the proposed 120 million energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Hartlebury looks set for further delays 15 years after Worcestershire and Herefordshire councils first signed a deal for the project.
Planning permission for the 200,000 tonnes per year capacity incinerator was confirmed by communities secretary Eric Pickles last year after a public enquiry (see letsrecycle.com story), but work has still not started on the facility due wrangling over PFI funding options.
Mercia Waste Management is developing the 120 million plant, known as EnviRecover, in partnership with its sister company Severn Waste Services under a 25-year, PFI waste management contract signed with Worcestershire council and neighbouring Herefordshire council in 1998.
But, due to council concerns raised last year about financing for the plant being based on relatively expensive bank debt financing, councillors decided in December 2012 to pursue proposals for alternative methods of finance for the EfW plant.
As a result, a report assessing the value for money, affordability and proposed funding options of the Hartlebury facility was due to go before councillors at a meeting this today (October 4), at which a final decision was expected. However, this has now been postponed with no date yet rescheduled.
Proposals
According to the councils, more time is now needed to consider the proposals finances after an additional funding option was suggested by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as part of discussions on the finances of the plant.
Worcestershire council said further details of the new funding option were commercially sensitive.
The councils added that they were committed to finding the most cost effective waste disposal solution for residents and that the report to cabinet was being postponed allowing for further work to be competed ahead of any recommendation.
Between the councils and central government a new timeline will be worked up, and communicated as soon as possible.
Cost
According to council documents, current arrangements for dealing with the two councils waste is costing around 32 million a year, while the Mercias proposals with the EfW plant was expected to cost the councils 38 million a year. However, the councils expect to pay more after 2023 in a do nothing scenario due to increasing landfill tax costs.
Meanwhile, campaigners from Worcestershire residents Against Incineration and Landfill (WAIL) believe the proposed facility is the wrong technology in the wrong place and that the value for money justification has not been demonstrated, despite repeated requests.
But, Worcestershire council leader and cabinet member for finance Adrian Hardman, told letsrecycle.com that the development was definitely value for money.
When asked about the postponement, he said: This is a technicality at the end of the process. We own the site, we have signed the deal and we have planning permission. We are extremely far down the line here.
Mr Hardman said that continuing to send the two counties waste to landfill would cost around 100 million over the next 25 years.
He said: I therefore want this project to be decided as soon as possible so we can move away from land filling our residual waste after recycling as much as we can. Due to the scale and long term nature of this initiative we have been working closely with central government. In view of their recent finance suggestions we must take as much time as we need to make sure we get it right for Worcestershire.
Energy
Once operational, the plant is set to provide up to 15.5MW of electricity for distribution to the local grid, enough to supply around 20,000 homes.
A spokesman for Mercia said: We are aware that the councils have postponed the scheduled meeting as they continue to pursue the optimal solution for funding the proposed residual waste disposal project.
We shall continue to provide support to the councils at all levels in order to ensure that they achieve a successful outcome.
Mercia is a joint venture between Urbaser Ltd and FCC Environment.
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