In support of the UK’s ambition to reduce waste in an efficient and effective manner, Viridor and Grundon Waste Management Ltd have announced outline plans for the construction of a new Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at Ford in West Sussex. The joint venture in Ford, West Sussex, will be constructed at Grundon owned Ford Circular Technology Park, adjacent to Viridor’s existing Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).
Viridor, which is part of the FTSE 250-listed Pennon Group, and one of the UK’s largest recycling and waste management providers, signed Heads of Terms with Grundon Waste Management Ltd for the new Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) on September 27, 2019.
Grundon is the UK’s largest privately-owned waste management and environmental services company. Formed in 1929, the company recently celebrated its 90th anniversary.
ERFs make a vital contribution to both the sustainability and security of energy generation in the UK. As one of the UK’s leading providers of waste management and environmental services, Grundon is committed to helping reduce society’s dependence on unsustainable fossil fuels and providing environmentally-friendly alternatives to disposing of waste at landfill. We look forward to bringing our high standards of professional operation and focus on innovation to the new ERF at Ford, said Grundon’s Deputy Chairman, Neil Grundon in a statement.
The proposed location of the new ERF is adjacent to both Grundon’s existing waste transfer operations and one of Viridor’s existing Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), bringing potential Energy Park benefits. It follows the success of the existing joint venture between Viridor and Grundon at Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW) facility, near Slough.
The proposed location already benefits from planning consent for an ERF, which followed its development plan allocation by West Sussex Council.
The new ERF at Ford will bring the total number of plants in Viridor’s portfolio to twelve. Viridor’s current GBP1.5 billion (≈ EUR 1.68 billion) ERF portfolio has ten plants in operation with the GBP252 million (≈ EUR 283 million) ERF at Avonmouth currently under construction.
We are delighted to be moving forward with our ERF growth strategy, transforming non-recyclable waste into low carbon energy. The market fundamentals for ERFs remain robust, with the gap between combustible residual waste arisings and ERF capacity forecast to remain around seven million tonnes per annum to 2035. In addition to today’s announcement, we are continuing to develop options around a further two ERFs, as signalled in our Capital Markets Day earlier this year. Viridor remains at the forefront of the UK recycling and energy sector and we are proud that our activity and investment continues to support the growth of a circular economy, said Phil Piddington, Managing Director of Viridor.
