WRG’s Eastcroft Energy from Waste plant provides steam for Nottingham’s district heating scheme

WRG is celebrating the outcomes of an 18-month drive to enhance its portfolio of more sustainable and efficient waste management and renewable energy generation options.

A renewed focus away from disposal activity has seen the business successfully introduce a range of new waste treatment and energy initiatives, some of which was showcased RWM with CIWM Exhibition (13-15 September), at the NEC, Birmingham.

The starting point for these new approaches was last year's Recycling Waste World National Energy from Waste conference in February 2010 at which WRG unveiled plans to introduce wind turbine energy generation on both its closed and operational landfill sites.

Planning committee approvals have already been received for the installation of two turbines at each of two sites in the East Riding of Yorkshire — Carnaby and Gallymoor — with a total capacity of up to 6MW of electricity.

Further wind farm planning applications have also been submitted for a total of 14 large turbines at three other sites, and for single turbines at five other sites. A significant number of other projects are at the pre-planning stage.

To emphasise the Company's interests in renewable energy, WRG has joined RenewableUK, the trade and processional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries.

Part of FCC, the international environmental services, infrastructure and energy group, WRG is also expanding its energy crop activities following a successful pilot which involved planting a combination of miscanthus grass and short rotation coppice (SRC) at 14 landfill sites across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Humberside and Yorkshire totaling 100 hectares and attracting funding from Natural England.

The initiative is part of WRG's drive to expand the generation of renewable energy and maximise the use of its existing waste treatment facilities and expertise. Next year will see an additional 100 hectares, the equivalent of approximately 200 football pitches, planted at operational and closed landfill sites across the UK.

WRG is believed to be the first waste management business of its kind to undertake an energy crop initiative of this scale, and plans to sell the harvested crops to Drax Power Station, at Selby, Yorkshire, as a biomass fuel.

In another renewable energy diversification, WRG is developing a number of small anaerobic digesters fed exclusively with energy crops such as maize. The crops will be grown on the WRG landbank and will supply electricity to WRG facilities with the surplus sold to the national grid. The first of these developments will be in Oxfordshire.

The development of Energy from Waste (EfW) activity remains a major focus for WRG. Construction started in May on a new EfW facility for Lincolnshire County Council. WRG is responsible for the design, build and operation of the 150,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) facility which will supply 11 megawatts of electricity to the National Grid by the end of 2013.

In addition, work is due to start later this year on the installation of a third operating line at WRG's Eastcroft EfW at Nottingham, which will enable an additional 100,000 tpa to be processed, raising the facility's total capacity to 260,000 tpa.

WRG has also been awarded preferred bidder status by Buckinghamshire County Council for the development of a 300,000 tpa EfW facility at Greatmoor, near Calvert, north Buckinghamshire.

And WRG is also the preferred bidder for North Lincolnshire Council's 27-year waste contract. The contract will treat up to 1.5 million tonnes of residual household waste over its lifetime. In partnership with cement-maker CEMEX UK, WRG will use Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) to convert waste into Climafuel®, an alternative fuel developed by CEMEX for use at their cement kilns at South Ferriby, Lincolnshire. Climafuel® is a sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuels such as coal.

"The last 18 months have seen FCC's UK business at the forefront of developing a range of new ideas and approaches geared towards delivering long-term sustainability and commercial advantage," said Paul Taylor, Chief Executive of FCC's UK operations.

"That's good for WRG, good for our customers and their own stakeholders, and good for the environment."

Paul added: "There's no doubt that extracting maximum value from waste, through recycling or recovery, is the way forward and I'm immensely proud of the initiative and innovation that has been displayed by our teams across the UK business in delivering such progress and prospects in such a relatively short time."

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