Cory Riverside Energy Ltd (Cory), a leading UK recycling, energy recovery and resource management company, has revealed ambitious plans to build an integrated, low-carbon energy park at its site in Belvedere, South East London.
According to Cory, the energy park would complement its existing Riverside Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) and comprise a range of technologies including waste energy recovery, anaerobic digestion (AD), solar panels, and battery storage.
Riverside Energy Park would enable the company to convert even more of London’s residual “black bin” waste into green electricity, particularly during times of peak usage, and produce cheap heat for supply to nearby homes and businesses. In addition, it would continue to convert the residual ash that is left over at the end of the process into construction materials used for building London’s homes and roads.
Cory has advised the Government’s Planning Inspectorate, which handles applications for this type of project, of its proposals. Meanwhile, the company will develop the scheme and consult with the local community and other organisations about the proposals before formally submitting an application to the Secretary of State for development consent.
The company expects to hold public exhibitions during the summer of 2018 and, before then, will work with key public bodies and local stakeholders to identify the main environmental and planning considerations that will be addressed by the design of the Energy Park.
Construction is targeted to begin in 2021, and the Energy Park is expected to be fully operational by 2024. Cory has also selected Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) as its Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, following its excellent delivery of the existing Riverside ERF.
Cory forecasts that the Riverside Energy Park would:
- Generate up to 96 MW of low carbon renewable electricity at peak times, which taken together with the permitted capacity of 72 MW from the existing Riverside ERF is the equivalent of powering approximately 300 000 homes across London (almost 10 percent of London’s 3.2 million households
- Divert a further 650 000 tonnes of residual waste away from landfill, which will save an additional 130 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year
- Make use of Cory’s existing river-based infrastructure on the River Thames to further reduce road traffic. At present, Cory’s use of the Thames as a “Green Highway” currently removes around 100 000 truck journeys from London’s roads every year. The new park would allow for a further 80 000 truck journeys to be removed.
- Be capable of supplying up to 30 MW of affordable heat energy to local housing
- Create a further 175 000 tonnes per annum of construction materials from the energy-from-waste (EfW) process for use in building the south-east’s homes and infrastructure, avoiding the need for the industry to extract an equivalent tonnage of natural stone
- Make a valuable contribution to local employment, with over 100 full-time jobs and apprenticeships set to be created at the energy park and on the river. The construction period is likely to require a workforce in excess of 6 000 people.
The new energy park represents a huge step forward when it comes to meeting London’s waste management and energy generation needs. Our current Riverside Energy Recovery Facility has been reliably operating at capacity and within all air pollution limits since day one, so expanding our energy generating capabilities in a more ambitious integrated Energy Park is the natural next step, said Nicholas Pollard, Chief Executive of Cory Riverside Energy.
Analysis from independent waste and biomass market research consultants Tolvik Consulting shows that there is approximately 2.5 million tonnes of EfW capacity currently serving London and an estimated shortfall in treatment capacity for London’s residual waste of up to 1.4 million tonnes by 2030.
London is facing a significant capacity gap in its ability to appropriately dispose of and treat all its waste. This new park is an important part of the solution. By employing a range of technologies which are proven at scale, we can expand our ability to generate clean, low carbon renewable energy for London and treat more of London’s waste within the city’s boundaries, said Pollard.
Facts
About Cory Riverside Energy
Cory Riverside Energy is one of the UK’s leading resource management, recycling, and energy recovery companies. The company developed, owns and operates the largest operating Energy Recovery Facility in the United Kingdom, processing London’s waste into electricity, metals and construction aggregates.
The company is majority-owned by investment funds managed by Strategic Value Partners. Other investors include EQT Credit Opportunities Fund and Commerzbank. Cory was originally founded in London by William Cory and his sons and has been navigating its fleet on the River Thames since 1896. Cory currently works directly with seven London Boroughs including Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Wandsworth, City of London, Tower Hamlets and Bexley. The company also holds a number of significant commercial and industrial (C&I) contracts. Cory’s Riverside Energy Recovery facility, at Belvedere, is fed by a unique river-based infrastructure along the River Thames, which uses tugboats and barges for delivering residual waste to the plant.
