Recently, global waste-to-energy technology specialist DP CleanTech Ltd announced a partnership with UK waste operators Dauson Environmental Group and Brooke Energy Group Ltd to form DP SWIPCo UK Ltd. DP SWIPCo UK has now launched a new standardised Small Waste Incineration Plant Solution (SWIPSo) for the UK Small Waste Incineration Plant (SWIP) market.
UK waste operators are facing mounting financial pressures. Landfill tax has risen from £19 per tonne in the mid-2000s to £130.75 per tonne today, with a proportional increase in gate fees.
Shrinking landfill capacity, tightening environmental compliance requirements, stricter sorting standards, and forthcoming waste-tracking frameworks are adding further cost and complexity.
The introduction of the Small Waste Incineration Plant (SWIP) regulations in 2017 – legally defined as a facility processing up to 3 tonnes per hour of non-hazardous waste – was intended to facilitate the efficient development of small-scale energy-from-waste, and provide operators greater control over the cost of doing business.
However, progress has been very slow, and the few SWIP plants built to date have, according to DP SWIPCo UK, been very costly to design and build. Those that are operational have not consistently achieved 8,000 hours of annual runtime.
SWIPSo – turnkey, small-scale, SWIP-compliant
DP SWIPCo UK developed the Small Waste Incineration Plant Solution (SWIPSo) to address these shortcomings.
The SWIPSo is a turnkey, small-scale, SWIP-compliant, standard-footprint refuse-derived fuel (RDF) fired plant developed for small and medium UK waste operators.
The SWIPSo manages the complete waste cycle on a single site — from
waste sorting through to material recycling, energy generation, and the safe disposal of inert residue and emissions.
Built to a standard template, it requires very little site-specific design, and permitting is significantly simplified.
Working closely with our partners, we identified the key needs and concerns of operators, and in response built a standardised, fit-for-purpose, full-cycle plant designed for SWIP compliance from the ground up. Our efforts are already converting into orders, and we have secured two contracts for delivery, now awaiting final permitting, with further contracts expected over the next two years, explained Simon Parker, CEO of DP CleanTech Group.
Built on DP CleanTech’s technology — proven across more than 100 waste-to-energy plants worldwide — the SWIPSo’s standardised, purpose-built design costs significantly less to build and operate than a bespoke plant, and can be delivered in half the time.
It strips out the cost and complexity typical of bespoke energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities, while improving product quality and easing permitting and installation.
The SWIPSo is a value-engineered, optimised and standardised plant with a minimal footprint that can be operational within a short time frame. It reduces the uncertainty around reliability, overall cost and timing that often accompanies a bespoke RDF plant. It’s an approach that can radically improve the economics of owning a WtE plant, added Nigel Stone, MD DP CleanTech UK.
