The first large scale EfW (Energy from Waste) plant has begun construction in Northern Ireland as the Full Circle Generation projects gets fully underway. Not only will it improve targets for local councils’ waste management, the plant will also create hundreds of jobs and provide Bombardier with a cheaper, renewable energy source.
Full Circle Generation
The plant will use feedstock derived from household food waste, with consent so far for the plant to treat 120,000 tonnes per year. This doesn’t represent full plant capacity.
The facility is being built by French energy construction and management firm Bouygues Energies and Services, who will oversee the build and manage the facility once completed. The plant has been helped by a £47 million investment from the UK Green Investments Bank (GIB). The Full Circle Generation project is a partnership between the GIB, developers RiverRidge Energy Limited and investors P3P Partners and Equitix.
The plant will generate over 60 GWh of clean, renewable energy each year. The power will be used by nearby Bombardier Aerospace Site, who hope the energy created will be able to provide the wing facility with a fully predictive energy source. Bombardier will gain the energy through a power purchase agreement.
Jobs and Benefits
During construction, 250 jobs will be created and once operational, a further 20 jobs will be created at the facility. The Full Circle Generation EfW facility is being constructed at Belfast’s Harbour Estate, which is not far from Bombardiers’ Queen’s Island Site.
Creating energy from waste is one of the oldest sources of renewable energy and is a debatable ‘clean’ energy source. However, the developers of this site have promised that they will create energy in an ‘environmentally sensitive’ manner. The plant will also help local councils who need somewhere to take food waste with minimal costs involved.
The news has been welcomed by politicians, who think that the potential for renewable energy from waste has not been fully utilised in Northern Ireland, although Northern Ireland solar panels have long been installed by northern ireland solar panel installer companies. Wind energy is also not yet fully harnessed.
The plant is expected to be completely operational by 2017 and will be the flagship facility of it’s type in Northern Ireland.