A new energy recovery facility (ERF) was officially opened in Exeter yesterday (16 October), by the Chairman of Devon County Council, George Gribble.

Built in partnership between Devon County Council, waste contractor Viridor and construction company TIRU, the £45-million facility has been built on the site of the former Exeter incinerator on the Marsh Barton Trading Estate and has taken nearly two years to complete.

Facility details

The plant has the capacity to process 60,000 tonnes of residual waste each year, including that collected from households in Exeter, East Devon and Teignbridge.

The new facility will burn waste to generate energy that can be recovered for separate use. Waste and air are fed into a kiln and processed at temperatures of around 1110˚c. The combustion process produces heat and high-pressure steam that can be converted to electrical power by the use of a turbine and generator.

Energy produced by the waste treatment process will be fed back into the national grid, reducing running costs and offsetting the facility’s own energy consumption.

According to Viridor, the plant will be able to produce enough electricity to power around 5,000 homes and has the potential to run a district heating scheme.

Operations and management contractor Cyclerval (part of the TIRU group) will operate and maintain the plant for the next five years.

Yesterday, delegates from Devon County Council, Viridor and TIRU assembled with local community representatives at an official opening event at the site.

“We felt that energy from waste was the best technology”

Speaking at the official opening, Deputy Leader of Devon County Council, Councillor John Clatworthy, said: “For years, landfill has been the cheaper option, but it’s not a good environmental solution. Reducing, reusing and recycling waste is our priority and will remain so, but the remainder needs to be dealt with and we felt that energy from waste was the best technology.

“So with our new facility here in Exeter, we can recover energy from our waste, turn it into electricity, and export it back to the National Grid. That reduces the running costs of the plant, as well as creating a useful form of renewable energy. In time, we hope to use the steam too as part of a district heating network, making it a truly efficient process.”

Ian McAulay, Chief Executive of Viridor, added: “We want people to see waste differently and as a resource, not just the spoils of every day life waiting for disposal.

“Each year, Viridor recycles over two million tonnes of materials and transforms more into 820 gigawatt hours of renewable energy. Our partnership here with Devon County Council and TIRU will contribute to that achievement for years to come.”

Minister for Energy and Climate Change Baroness Verma also visited the plant for a tour of the facility and to open the education and visitor area.

She said: "Energy is a vital resource and as we look to cut down on our use of fossil fuels, conserving and using waste as one alternative source is a sensible and clean option"

"On my visit it was good to spend time in the Education Centre at the plant to see how Devon County Council is working to inform current and future generations on the importance of recycling and the need to promote energy from waste as a key source of our future energy needs."

Find out more about the energy-from-waste plant in Exeter.