Waste2Tricity (W2T) has announced the start of a concept design study for an advanced waste-to-energy plant.
Peel Environmental will provide the property for the facility, which will convert approximately 100,000 tonnes a year of feedstock to low carbon electricity.
Similar to the Air Products plant on Teesside on which construction recently started, the project will use Westinghouse plasma assisted gasification from Alter NRG to convert waste sourced from several suppliers including Energy Gap Ltd.
Alter NRG is providing a discounted technology licence for the project in exchange for an option to take a minority investment.
W2T, in conjunction with its engineer AMEC and consultant Foster Wheeler, is also working with partners to draw up plans for the 13.6MW plant, which will produce nearly 109,000 MW hours of low carbon electricity a year.
The project will use internal combustion engines but W2T expects it to also demonstrate AFC Energy’s alkaline fuel cells as they become commercially available. The equivalent fuel cell plant will export an additional 43% of electricity from the same amount of feedstock.
Peter Jones, chairman of W2T said: “We expect this to be the first of many similar programmes for the project partners in the UK. The 100,000 tonnes a year model will meet the localism agenda – using locally derived feedstock to supply electricity to local homes and businesses. We believe there is a potential market in the UK for up to 100 units of this size.”
