Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 12TH - 18TH APRIL 2019 | 7 News ETI's £8 million, 1.5MWe waste gasifica- tion demonstration project in the West Mid- lands – incorporating an engine fuelled by "ultra-clean", tar-free syngas – is currently in hot commissioning phase and should be operational by July at the latest. ETI project manager Paul Winstanley says: "There will always be a place for tradi- tional combustion systems, but our research suggests gasification can offer a more embed- ded local solution. If you go small enough, the population in the local area don't have as much of an issue." Combined heat and power Of the 40 EfW plants in the UK, just eight operate in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) mode. A spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tells Utility Week: "While our top priorities are to prevent the creation of unnecessary waste in the first place, followed by preparing waste for reuse or recycling, we recognise that energy from waste has an important part to play in diverting waste away from landfill. "That's why, as part of our landmark resources and waste strategy, we have set out plans to help companies that run energy- from-waste plants to improve their efficiency by encouraging the use of the heat the plants produce." Using waste to generate both heat and electricity was a largely missed opportunity, says Tim McNeilly, managing director at I C Electricalan, electrical contractor working in the EfW sector. "It is apparent in some cases that opera- tors focus more on burning waste, rather than energy generation. This approach could be altered with further legislative backing and funding from government regarding future energy generation." Tanja Groth is lead energy economist at Sweco UK. She is currently working to deliver a project for Leeds City Council to create one of the UK's largest low-carbon heating networks, which from later this spring will connect almost 2,000 homes and scores of businesses across the city, converting steam from a local recycling plant into hot water and distributing it along a 16.5km network of underground pipes. "In 20 years, I don't think there will be a market for traditional EfW plans and one area where the UK could do more is EfW facilities for combined energy and heat, but a challenge is we don't have a lot of heat networks." Then there's the question of who takes on the financial responsibility for the infrastructure needed. "The investment opportunities for the UK are huge." In the short term, tried and tested tech- nologies will continue to dominate the land- scape. "These [gasification and pyrolysis] projects have a mixed record for reliability and investors are generally more comfortable with conventional technology which has a proven track record. We expect conventional EfW to remain the dominant technology for the foreseeable future," Lloyd says. The environmental imperative At the same time, with moves to phase out single-use plastics and an appetite for collec- tion of food waste gaining traction, there is a strong environmental imperative to focus investments on energy-saving practices, such as recycling or composting, so we can transi- tion to a resource-efficient and ultimately regenerative circular economy, says Dean Hislop, managing director of Renovare Fuels. "Destroying valuable matter in a pol- luting manner doesn't solve the problem or even offer a long-term economical solu- tion. Incinerating waste produces carbon emissions that damage the ozone layer, and increasingly environmentally focused legis- lation will ultimately mean businesses don't see any notable financial value from generat- ing energy in this way," Hislop says. Renovare Fuels has created a technology that can turn biodegradable organic waste, from industries like agriculture and food production, into a liquid biofuel that can be dropped into systems as a direct replacement for diesel and petrol. Palmer says there is no sign that politi- cal enthusiasm for EfW has waned recently, although the Treasury says there is "over- whelming support" from the public for a range of measures including an incineration tax as a means to "encourage recycling as opposed to incineration". And Tolvik Consulting warns that unless it is appropriately set, an incinerator tax could make landfill a cheaper option than EfW or make export a more attractive option than treatment at an EfW plant. Despite the challenges, it is by no means all doom and gloom for the business of energy from waste. The construction of new plants is as important as ever. On 22 March, Covanta and Green Invest- ment Group announced that the Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility in Bedford- shire had reached financial close and con- struction could now begin. Rookery South at a former brick clay extraction pit, near Stewartby in Bedfordshire, will process over 500,000 tonnes of residual waste a year and generate over 60MWh of low carbon energy – enough electricity to meet the needs of 75,000 homes. Meanwhile, Amey's waste treatment facil- ity at Newport – being delivered on behalf of the Isle of Wight council – is expected to be fully operational by this summer. The mechanical treatment plant will convert up to 44,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste to fuel via EfW technology, which is set to produce up to 23,000MWh of energy a year when it is commissioned. Energy from waste has a clear place in the waste hierarchy, Lloyd says, and exist- ing projects are, on the whole, proving viable and economically successful. Most EfW facil- ities use grate boilers, which is a mature and reliable technology. And the majority achieve very high availability. Tolvik Consulting's report, meanwhile, predicts that continuous optimisation ini- tiatives will increase waste throughputs and power export efficiencies, particularly for larger EfWs. But as the Interserve example illustrates all too well, the economic performance of a project will be largely driven by how well it is managed and operated. Rachel Willcox is a freelance journalist

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