Sembcorp UK and SITA UK have today announced plans to develop “Wilton 11” - an energy recovery facility at the Wilton International site.

 

The development will create around 50 permanent new jobs, underpin jobs in the supply chain and sustain a further 150 to 200 jobs in construction over a three year period.

 

The process, using proven technology in use throughout the UK and Europe, generates around 35MW of electricity – enough to power around 55,000 households – from an annual feedstock of around 400,000 tonnes of non-hazardous office and household waste with recycled elements removed.

 

As well as producing green energy, the Sembcorp/SITA facility will also make renewably produced steam and heat available to companies on the Wilton International site.

 

The process will result in an overall annual saving of 130,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from the site – the equivalent of the exhaust gases of around 26,000 vehicles - compared to landfilling the same amount of waste.

John Bone, vice president for business development at Sembcorp UK, said: “This move builds on our earlier move into renewable energy via our successful biomass power plant. The skills of the Teesside workforce plus the infrastructure already in place mean we are ideally placed to extend our expertise in this growing sector.” 

 

Andy Stokes, Head of Infrastructure Developments at SITA UK, said: “We have to shift the way we think about waste – from being something that we throw away – to a resource that has a second life, which can be used again to generate energy. “

 

“Teesside has led the way with energy-from-waste facilities at Billingham, which already deal with almost all of Teesside’s residual waste. We wish to build on our established expertise together with the excellent local workforce and infrastructure to offer solutions for a limited number of other UK areas.”

The plant will be owned jointly by both companies who have complementary strengths in renewable electricity and waste management. Sembcorp began operating the UK’s first large scale biomass power station in 2007 and SITA UK has operated an energy recovery facility at Billingham for the past 12 years. Work on the facility will begin in 2012 with commercial operations by 2015.

 

Discussions are underway with a view to taking the majority of the office and household waste to site by rail from a small number of local authorities outside of the Teesside area. The Wilton International site has an established rail network linking it to the national system and this move will utilise it more efficiently. A quantity could possibly also come by road and rail from authorities nearer Teesside.