Covanta Announces EfW Plans

5 October 2010

Covanta Energy has announced plans to build and operate a regional Energy from Waste (EfW) facility located at Drumshangie, North Lanarkshire. The facility has already been granted planning permission and as a Combined Heat and Power plant (CHP) will generate 24 MW of renewable electricity for export to the National Grid each year. A further 23 MW of renewable thermal energy will be generated for use in district heating or chilling and to support co-located industrial and business processes. The combined energy output will be enough to provide approximately 80,000 homes with renewable energy, and potential customers for the heating/chilling load have already been identified.

The Zero Waste Plan states that Scotland sent approximately 6m tonnes of waste to landfill in 2008, and the Airdrie North Facility will help Scotland to meet two environmental targets: diversion of waste from landfill, as required by the EU Landfill Directive, and the supply of renewable energy.

Covanta Energy's Managing Director Malcolm Chilton said: "This is Covanta's first project in Scotland and will provide an important part of the region's waste management and renewable power infrastructure

"It provides a cost efficient and environmentally friendly solution for the proportion of the area's waste which cannot sensibly be recycled and which has not until now been sent to landfill. The heat output should also act as a development magnet to other industries keen to take advantage of the renewable heat & power output."