Wheelabrator Technologies, has secured the right to purchase 19.5 acres of land at the Skelton Grange site in Leeds which already has planning permission for a 300,000 TPA waste to energy plant.
Waste to energy operator and developer, Wheelabrator Technologies, has secured the right to purchase 19.5 acres of land at the Skelton Grange site in Leeds which already has planning permission for a 300,000 TPA waste to energy plant.
The site, currently owned by Harworth Group plc. Is adjacent to Junction 45 of the M1 in east Leeds, also has an application to vary the capacity up to 410,000 tonnes which expected to be submitted later this year.
History
The proposed facility is located within the Aire Valley Regeneration Area, on the eastern outskirts of Leeds. The development area was formerly occupied by the Skelton Grange coal-fired Power Station and cooling towers that were demolished in 1990.
Originally the proposals to develop a waste to energy plant at the site were made by waste management firm Biffa. Consultants at SLR assisted in preparing the planning application and undertaking a full EIA as well as the Environmental Permit application.
The planning application was approved by Leeds City Council in 2013, but has not yet been implemented.
Moving Forward
The project is currently being developed by Wheelabrator Technologies with the support of Multifuel Energy Limited (MEL), a 50:50 joint venture between Wheelabrator Technologies and utility firm SSE. Heads of Terms have been signed with Beauparc to act as the sole feedstock supplier to the facility, and financial close is targeted for mid-2020.
MEL currently operates Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1), a 675,000 tonnes-per-year facility in West Yorkshire and is currently completing the construction of a second 675,000 tonne per year facility Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2), which is expected to reach commercial operations in Q4 2019.
“Acquiring nearly 20 acres at Skelton Grange to create another energy from waste site is another major milestone for Wheelabrator. We remain committed to investing in new long-term waste infrastructure in the U.K. – building and operating new energy from waste facilities that divert residential and business waste from landfill and produce renewable baseload energy for the local communities in which we operate,” said Paul Green, Vice President of Business Development for Wheelabrator.
Brian McCabe, Managing Director of Beauparc added: “We are excited to be the sole fuel supplier and part of this new development that enables us to enhance and expand our activities close to the M62 corridor whilst also continuing to supply fuel to the Ferrybridge 1 energy-from-waste facility.”
Ian Ball, Chief Operating Officer at Harworth commented: “The project will bring much needed renewable energy and employment opportunities to the region, unlocking the development of a site that has been vacant since the former power station on the site was demolished in 1990.”
