LSEP
Artists impression of the proposed Lostock facility by the Trent and Mersey Canal. Credit: Tata Chemicals Europe
Funding to the tune of £480-million has been secured for a proposed 600,000 tonne capacity energy-from-waste (EfW) plant at the Tata Chemicals-owned Lostock manufacturing site in Northwich, UK.
The funding was agreed between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and FCC Environment via a joint enterprise called the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant Ltd (LSEP) and Tata Chemicals Europe which owns the site at Lostock.
The agreement will contribute to the UK government's landfill reduction strategy and waste export strategy. LSEP will turn residual waste, left over after the recyclable material has been removed, into energy. The plant is set to create hundreds of new jobs in the area as well as supplying steam to Tata's manufacturing plant on the site.
The proposals says that LSEP will use 600,000 tonnes of waste annually, which was otherwise destined for the landfill, and will generate renewable energy to power around 110,000 houses and also offsetting over 200,000 tonnes in CO2 emissions per year.
Fraser Ramsay, Tata Chemical's project director, said: “We’re delighted to have reached agreement with LSEP for them to fund, own, build and operate the Lostock Energy from Waste Plant. We recognised the need for strong third-party support to take this project forward and, through this agreement, have secured leading energy from waste expertise to make the plant a reality."
“At £480m, this is one of the largest investments at the Lostock site since soda ash manufacturing commenced in 1907 and continues a rich industrial history of innovation and job creation in Northwich. We hope, by working with industry leading organisations, that concerns previously expressed about the project by members of the local community will be alleviated.”
The plant will be built by CNIM, a specialist in EfW solutions on behalf on LSEP. Construction will consist of two phases: a 15-month works program, followed by a 3-year building phase. Operations are set to commence in the Spring of 2023.
As well as contributing financially to the project, FCC Environment will operate the plant and source the waste used to generate steam and energy. The company has over 200 waste treatment and renewable energy sites in the UK. It operates three EfW plants and has planning permission for two more.
FCC Environment chief executive, Paul Taylor, said: “Today is a milestone for the waste treatment industry here in the UK which is facing a severe capacity gap for the treatment of unrecyclable residual waste."
“We already successfully operate a number of plants here in the UK generating some 102 MW of green energy with a new plant due to come on stream in Edinburgh later this summer."
“So, this development forms an important part of our strategy to continuously invest in the waste related infrastructure that is crucial for this country’s ability to process waste and power homes across the UK both today and in the future. We also maintain our strategy to strengthen FCC’s UK position as EfW owner, supplier and UK operator.”
Christina Grumstrup Sørensen, senior partner at CIP, said: “We are proud to be involved in the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant on behalf of the CI III fund. We entered the project in the late development phase in September 2017 and have worked closely with TCE and FCC to reach financial close."
“We are excited to engage in the construction phase with CNIM, and to have formed a long-term strategic partnership with FCC – a leading waste management company with a long track record within waste and operations management."
“The project will convert waste into renewable energy and create hundreds of local jobs during the construction and operation phases. We look forward to utilising our unique competences and experience from our existing thermal renewable energy projects, working closely with the local community and our partners”
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