The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has announced plans to build a new energy recovery facility at Edmonton EcoPark in the London Borough of Enfield.
The combined heat and power (CHP) facility, which is expected to cost between £450 million and £500 million, will replace the existing energy-from-waste plant at EcoPark, and will incinerate 700,000 tonnes of waste a year (at a peak) to produce 50 megawatts of electricity (enough to power around 127,000 homes). It will also have the potential to heat local homes and businesses, by distributing heat produced through schemes like Enfield Council’s planned Lee Valley Heat Network.
The project will commence with an initial round of public consultation on 28 November, during which the local community will be asked to provide feedback on the proposal.
“A benchmark” for energy recovery
The current plant at EcoPark has served north London for around 45 years, but is nearing the end of its operational life. It is anticipated that the new facility will replace it in 2025, following three years of construction.
The existing facility currently employs around 180 people. The NLWA stressed that the new build will preserve these positions, as well as creating new jobs as a result of the construction and demolition processes.
It is reported that the CHP plant will ‘set a benchmark for similar projects in the UK’ and will be amongst the cleanest of its kind in Europe, being capable of achieving emission levels of 60 per cent below the current permissible limits.
The proposal is central to the NLWA’s new North London Heat and Power Project, which aims to provide solutions for residual waste that isn’t separated out for recycling. It has already agreed on a target of at least 50 per cent recycling by 2020.
Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of NLWA, said: "We want to prevent waste, we want you to recycle it and anything you can’t, we’re going to turn into fuel and use it to heat and power homes.
"We’re already doing it and this way we can continue to do it, which is good news for jobs, investment and sorting out north London’s waste problem.”
The announcement comes just over a year after the NLWA terminated procurement plans for the waste services and fuel use contracts for north London, stating at the time that a new energy recovery plant could provide a ‘significantly cheaper solution for managing north London’s waste’.
Consultations
The NLWA is set to hold two rounds of public consultation in order to receive input from the local community regarding its proposal. The first will run from 28 November until 15 January, and the second will follow in May and June next year.
Due to the amount of electricity that the plant is expected to generate, NLWA are also required to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate. The Inspectorate will be in charge of making a recommendation to the government, which it will make on the basis of its own examinations and a number of local hearings. It will then be up to the government to make a decision on whether or not to grant the DCO.
Find out more about the CHP plant being proposed for Edmonton EcoPark.
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