Residual Waste EFW
Residual Waste can be used as a feedstock for Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities and Residual Waste is considered as partially renewable or a low carbon energy source as a result of the energy produced from the fraction of Residual Waste derived from Biomass that is considered renewable[1]. This page reports that as at March 2021 Residual Waste EFW operational 'plated capacity' was 16,353,589 tonnes and in construction 'plated capacity' of 5,714,000 tonnes, a total of 22,067,589 tonnes which is around 75% of Residual Waste suitable for Energy from Waste.
Operational EfW
The following list summarises all EfW sites that were operational as of March 2021, with limited summary information in the table. More detailed information can be found by clicking through to the site-specific page, the total 'plated capacity' is 16,353,589 tonnes:
Summary site information is collated from a variety of sources including: Monksleigh[2], Tolvik[3], EA, SEPA, NRW, DEFRA, BEIS, UKWIN and owner and developer websites.
ID item 3 has multiple line entries - the capacity of all entries is shown once in the first line, consolidating the later ones and resulting in a 0 entry for those consolidated.
The map, right, contains the locations of all the sites listed above - please note that due to scale and cartographic limitations some of the numbers in the list might not be shown on the map due to sites being in close proximity, or sites in areas of high density. This does not mean that the site marker is not there. An example of this is Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1) and Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2) as both are in geographically similar locations, being a few 100m apart, and as a result the location markers will appear on top of each other, and as a result one will block the other's numerical id. This also applies to the following maps on sites in construction and planning.
Growth in Residual Waste EfW
Historically, the UK has been very dependent on Landfill or Incineration without Energy Recovery for Disposal of Residual Waste. The landfill diversion targets set in the mid 1990s promoted EfW developments. The diversion of residual waste away from Landfill and into EfW processes was intended to reduce emissions of methane and pollution originating from Landfill sites and increase production of renewable energy[1]. Energy from Waste is the now the main method for dealing with Residual Waste, with Landfill of Residual Waste being the least preferred method, as outlined in the Waste Hierarchy[1].
In 2019, the amount of residual waste that was sent to EfW processes in the UK increased by 9.9%, amounting to a total of 12.6 million tonnes being sent to 48 operational EfW facilities across the UK[4]. This was against a headline/plated capacity of 15,400,000 tonnes of operational capacity and a further 3,900,000 tonnes of late stage commissioning and in construction 'plated' capacity at that time. This represented 45.5% of the total Residual Waste produced in the UK in 2019 (increasing from 41.8% in 2018)[4]. The total net power exported from EfW facilities in 2019 was 6,703 GWh, this supplied 2.0% of the total UK power generation, and gives an average of 531 kWh of power generated per tonne of residual waste treated at UK EfW facilities[4]. The graph below displays how the tonnage of residual waste processes by UK EfW facilities has changed over recent years, and is based on that received rather than the 'plated' capacity of the plants in operation and construction (18,500,000 tonnes reported by Tolvik[4] at the end of 2019, whereas this page reports 22,067,589 tonnes as at March 2021).
| <graph>{
"width":400, "height":200, "data":[{ "name":"table", "values":[ {"x":2006,"y":3.3},{"x":2007,"y":3.3},{"x":2008,"y":3.3}, {"x":2009,"y":3.6},{"x":2010,"y":4.2},{"x":2011,"y":4.8}, {"x":2012,"y":5.2},{"x":2013,"y":5.5},{"x":2014,"y":6.7}, {"x":2015,"y":8.4},{"x":2016,"y":10.1},{"x":2017,"y":10.9}, {"x":2018,"y":11.5},{"x":2019,"y":12.6} ] }], "scales": [ {
"name": "x",
"type": "linear",
"range": "width",
"zero": false,
"domain": {"data": "table", "field": "x"}
},
{
"name": "y",
"type": "linear",
"range": "height",
"nice": true,
"domain": {"data": "table", "field": "y"}
}
], "axes": [ {"type": "x", "scale": "x", "format":"d","title":"Year"},
{"type": "y", "scale": "y", "grid":true, "title":"Million Tonnes"}
], "marks": [ {
"type": "line",
"from": {"data": "table"},
"properties": {
"enter": {
"x": {"scale": "x", "field": "x"},
"y": {"scale": "y", "field": "y"},
"stroke": {"value": "steelblue"},
"strokeWidth":{"value":2}
}
}
},
{ "type": "symbol",
"from": {"data": "table"},
"properties": {
"enter": {
"x": {"scale":"x","field": "x"},
"y": {"scale":"y","field": "y"},
"fill": {"value": "steelblue"},
"size":{"value":15}
}
}
} ] }</graph> |
| Year | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Tonnes | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.5 | 12.6 |
The table below shows the power and heat generation from residual waste EfW facilities in the UK between 2014-2018.[4]
| Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Net Power Export (GWhe) | 3,368 | 4,636 | 5,291 | 6,258 | 6,230 | 6,703 |
| Net Heat Export (GWhth) | NA | 554 | 730 | 865 | 1,112 | 1,384 |
England produced 12.5 million tonnes of Residual Waste from Households in 2016[5], and it is estimated that there will be an increase in EfW capacity for Residual Waste by 2 million tonnes/year by 2022 [6] but this is substantially lower than the plated capacity reported on this page.
With the increasing social, economic and political drive to Prevent, Reuse and Recycling more waste, in line with the Waste Hierarchy and the Circular Economy the amount of Residual Waste is expected to decrease in the medium to long term[1]. The exact magnitude of this reduction and the Residual Waste continuing to need to be delivered to EfW has been debated at length by different commentators over the last few years.
Under Construction EfW
The following list summarises all EfW sites that were under construction in March 2021, with limited summary information in the table and more detailed information by clicking through to the site-specific page . Historically there have been some plants that have not passed from construction to operation due to commissioning issues and are not listed i.e. Air Products. Several of the plants listed below that are presently in extended commissioning are based on Gasification technologies, but no comment is made as to whether they will reach full operational capacity. The total 'plated capacity' is 5,714,000 tonnes.
| ID | Site Name | Capacity (kt)
|
|---|---|---|
| 45. | North London Heat and Power (Edmonton EcoPark Replacement) | 700 |
| 46. | Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant | 600 |
| 62. | Showground Road | 105 |
| 69. | Riverside Energy Park (REP) | 650 |
| 70. | Rivenhall EFW | 595 |
| 72. | Protos EFW | 400 |
| 75. | Slough Multifuel EFW | 480 |
| 76. | Walsall Energy Recovery Facility | 478 |
| 83. | Binn Eco Park EFW | 85 |
| 95. | Drakelow Renewable Energy Centre | 169 |
| 127. | South Clyde Energy Centre, Bogmoor Road, Glasgow | 385 |
| 144. | Drumgray Energy Recovery Centre (DERC) | 300 |
| 146. | Kelvin Energy Recovery Facility | 400 |
| 170. | Oldhall EfW Plant | 180 |
| 178. | Skelton Grange EfW Plant | 435 |
| 184. | Westfield EfW Plant | 240 |
| 216. | Advanced Biofuel Solutions | 8 |
Summary site information collated from a variety of sources including: Monksleigh[2], Tolvik[3], EA, SEPA, NRW, DEFRA, BEIS, UKWIN and owner and developer websites
In Planning EfW
The following list summarises all EfW sites that were in the planning process as at March 2021, which comprises those that have received planning permission at some point and those that are presently in the consultation process seeking planning permission. The total 'plated capacity' shown in the tables below is 25,051,000 tonnes. In the case of Lakeside this planned capacity would replace the existing site, linked to the development of the third runway at Heathrow Airport.
In addition there are some plants below which have been reported as commencing construction, but this only applied to initial works or the construction of adjacent infrastructure, and not the EfW element of the project. The sites that fall into this category (i.e. the EfW is not thought to be under construction) in the list below include ID numbers 53, 59, 60, 63, 65, and 68.
No comment or note is made on those plants whose planning consent may have expired due to not being implemented within consented time limits, or the likelihood of them moving from this stage into construction, noting that the 'plated capacity' far exceeds the reported Residual Waste available to support them in the UK.
In Planning
In Consultation
| ID | Site Name | Capacity (kt)
|
|---|---|---|
| 63. | Canford | 260 |
| 206. | Archers Fields Energy Recovery Facility | 150 |
| 209. | Portland EFW | 183 |
| 210. | Mossdown Road ERF | 250 |
| 211. | Deeside RDF Fuel Project | 200 |
| 212. | PD Ports, Teeside | 300 |
| 214. | Century Road, Saltend, Hull | 320 |
| 218. | PD Ports, Teeside | 250 |
| 223. | Consett ERF | 60 |
| 226. | Connect Waste (Chequers Lane) | 75 |
| 227. | North Lincolnshire Green Energy Park | 650 |
| 228. | Green Energy Hub | 80 |
Summary site information collated from a variety of sources including: Monksleigh[2], Tolvik[3], EA, SEPA, NRW, DEFRA, BEIS, UKWIN and owner and developer websites
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Defra, 2014. Energy from Waste: A guide to the debate February 2014 (revised edition). London.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Monksleigh Ltd
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tolvik
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Derived from Tolvik EFW Statistics 2019, Published May 2020
- ↑ DEFRA UK Statistics on Waste 2020
- ↑ Tolvik Consulting, 2017. UK Residual Waste: 2030 Market Review. Environmental Services Association.