Public Consultation for Waste to Energy Proposal in Gloucestershire

18 May 2012 An environmental permit application to run a proposed 190,000 tonne per year waste to energy facility at Javelin Park, Haresfield has been submitted to the Environment Agency by Urbaser Environmental. According to the developer the facility will divert over 91% of Gloucestershire's residual municipal waste from landfill and generate an estimated 116,000 MWh of electricity annually - sufficient to power more than 25,000 homes. The company is a 30/70 split joint venture between construction and infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty (LON: BBY) and waste management company Urbaser - a part of the Spanish infrastructure company Grupo ACS (MC: ACS). Balfour Beatty will be involved in the design and construction of the facility, following which the facility will be commissioned and handed over to Urbaser to operate from late 2015 onwards. Balfour Beatty will invest 30% of the required equity, approximately £13 million, in the project which is expected to reach financial close in the second half of 2012. Planning permission and permits Before the facility can be built, the operator (Urbaser) needs to obtain a permit from the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting (England & Wales) Regulations 2010. If issued, the conditions in the permit will make sure that it operates without causing significant harm to the environment and human health. The facility also needs to obtain planning permission from the Local Authority (Gloucestershire County Council). The Environment Agency said that it is a consultee for the planning application, so will provide its comments/recommendations to the Council. However, the final decision on whether to grant planning permission rests with the Council. Both planning permission and an environmental permit from the Environment Agency need to be granted before the facility can be operated. Public consultation The Environment Agency said that it has now opened a consultation on the environmental permit application for the proposed facility and is inviting the public to make their comments. The consultation will open on 18 May 2012 and close on 6 July. All comments must be submitted by the closing date. Two public drop-in sessions will be held about the proposed facility as part of the consultation. The agency said that the sessions are open to anyone and will run from 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm and that its staff will be available to discuss the application on a first come first served basis. "We are considering the application, but before we make any decisions, we wanted to give local residents an opportunity to discuss any queries or concerns they may have with us face to face," explained Stuart Baker, environment manager for the Environment Agency. Read More Preferred Bidder for Gloucestershire Waste to Energy Project Balfour Beatty and Urbaser have been awarded preferred bidder status for a £500 million waste to energy project in Gloucestershire. Pickles Postpones Planning Decision for EnviRecover Waste to Energy Plant Eric Pickles the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has delayed a decision on Mercia Waste Management's planning application for its Waste to Energy facility in Worcestershire. Rapid Progress at 20 MW Waste to Energy Facility on Teesside Over 26,000 tonnes of concrete has been poured and more than 2500 tonnes of steel used in the first year of construction at SITA UK's 20 MW waste to energy facility at Haverton Hill on Teesside. Free Magazine Subscription Free Email Newsletter