Waste to Energy Facility Approved in Plymouth
08 February 2012 Plymouth County Council has formally approved that the proposals by German waste to energy company, MVV Environment to build a 245,000 tonne energy from waste incineration facility at North Yard, Devonport. According to the council, the approval granted includes 59 conditions and several schedules of legal clauses that the developers are expected to meet both during the facility's construction and while it is in operation - if the Environment Agency grants an operational licence. The council said that the planning requirements are designed to help offset the impact of the development on the immediate environment. The company claimed that the combined heat and power (CHP) facility will produce up to 22.5 MW of electricity depending on steam demand from the nearby naval base, which will be the recipient of up to 23.3 MW of heat in the form of steam. According to MVV, the facility will have a maximum efficiency of 49%, but operate at an averge of 39%, while a typical waste to energy facility operating without CHP would run at only around 23% net efficiency. Most of the electricity generated will be exported to the grid, The company added that the facility will divert around 200,000 tonnes of household waste from to landfill year, as well as providing an alternative option for local businesses. The waste will be incinerated on the combustion grate at temperatures of up to 1300 degree C. According to the company, the incinerator bottom ash (IBA) is to collected for further recycling and used as an aggregate substitute, for example in road-building. The IBA amounts to about 23% by weight of the waste delivered to the plant - around 57,000 tonnes per year. MVV said that it intends to start construction of the plant in spring 2012, with commissioning expected to take place in 2014. Assistant director of planning at Plymouth City Council, Paul Barnard commented: "This completes the planning application determination process. It signals that the applicant has now formally got planning permission as the decision notice has now been issued. According to Barnard, it also sets out what the council expect in terms of how the building process is managed and to make sure that the construction causes as little inconvenience as possible to the people who live nearby. "We will be monitoring all the conditions that the Planning Committee imposed on the developer very carefully to ensure the development meets all the requirements expected of it," he added/ However, according to a report by This is Plymouth, the local Liberal Democrat party has put a question to Plymouth City Council's Cabinet asking whether the council intends to put the incinerator plans on hold given the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) decision to conduct further research. Commenting on the study, HPA chief executive Justin McCracken said: "It is important to stress that our current position on the potential health effects of well run and regulated modern Municipal Waste Incinerators remains valid." The company said that the project represents a total investment of around £200 million in total and create 33 full time jobs. Read More New Waste Incineration Study by Health Protection Agency The UK's Health Protection Agency is to fund a new study to further extend the evidence base as to whether emissions from modern well run Municipal Waste Incinerators affect human health. Wood Waste Gasification Facility for Plymouth, UK A 40,000 tonne energy centre that will treat wood waste and supply both heat and power is to be built in Plymouth, UK. UK Waste to Energy PFI Project Awards Preferred Bidder Status MVV Umwelt, has been awarded preferred bidder status by the South West Devon Waste Partnership to provide a WtE solution to treat the region's residual waste. Free Magazine Subscription Free Email Newsletter