UK news update June 2024

Facility to make innovative use of waste incineration byproduct inaugurated • Feasibility study confirms potential for district heating in Scottish city • Feasibility study confirms potential for district heating in Scottish city • Read more about the developments in sustainable heating and cooling in this month's news update from the UK

Facility to make innovative use of waste incineration byproduct inaugurated 

Wellingborough MP Gen Kitchen has officially opened a £20 million aggregate manufacturing plant in Wellingborough, developed by Encyclis and Day Aggregates. The facility aims to annually transform 200,000 tonnes of incinerator bottom ash (IBA), a byproduct of the energy-from-waste (EfW) process, into EcoBlend – a sustainable manufactured aggregate.

Encyclis’ energy recovery facilities, located in Rookery South, Bedfordshire, and Newhurst, Leicestershire, play a crucial role in the process. These facilities combust waste at high temperatures to produce valuable baseload electricity and heat. The ashes left behind after combustion are transported to the Wellingborough plant, where any remaining metals are extracted for recycling. The remaining bottom ashes are transformed into aggregate products such as EcoBlend, which are used as a sub-base for pavements, footpaths, car parks, and roads.

The Wellingborough plant not only highlights the region’s potential as a business hub but also underscores the importance of sustainable practices in modern industry. By converting waste into valuable resources, the facility is a testament to innovation and environmental responsibility, setting a benchmark for future projects in the UK and beyond.

Read more in article from Let’s Recycle

Feasibility study confirms potential for district heating in Scottish city

A recently published feasibility confirms the potential of an existing energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in the Polmadie area of Glasgow to heat Hampden Park, New Victoria Hospital, schools, a police station, and numerous homes across the city’s southside.

Operated by Viridor on behalf of Glasgow City Council, the plant currently generates enough electricity to power up to 26,000 homes. The facility currently converts household waste into sustainable electricity, but could also provide a significant source of low-cost, low-carbon heating to Mount Florida, Toryglen, Battlefield, and Govanhill.

The feasibility study estimates that £24.1 million would be needed to construct the necessary pipe network and facilities for a district heating system. Such a system could potentially reduce carbon emissions from domestic heating in the area by 81%, even with back-up gas boilers in place. Over a 40-year period, the heating network could save over 160,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

The feasibility study on the GRREC is part of Glasgow’s Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy, which identified 21 zones across the city where heat demand levels show potential for viable district heating systems. Almost half of Glasgow’s homes could potentially connect to a district heating network. Other proposed sources of energy for these networks include extracting natural heat from the River Clyde using water source heat pumps, drawing heat from deep geothermal wells, and tapping into the city’s wastewater system.

Read more in article from Scottish Construction Now

Changes in ownership of Scottish waste-to-energy plant 

Gren Energy, which has pledged to invest £1 billion in UK low-carbon infrastructure, has acquired a 50% stake in the South Clyde Energy Centre, an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility under construction in Glasgow. The project was initially launched as a joint venture between Fortum Energy and Macquarie Asset Management, where the latter of the two now has divested their part to Gren Energy.

The facility will generate electricity and heat from non-hazardous waste, enough to power up to 70,000 homes. It will also provide heat to local businesses and district heating systems once operational by the end of 2026. This aligns well with Glasgow City Council’s ambitions to boost sustainable heating technologies, as outlined in the recently published Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES).    and the recently

The project will create around 40 permanent on-site jobs and 500 construction jobs, boosting the local economy. Gren’s acquisition marks a significant step towards sustainable energy solutions, positioning the South Clyde Energy Centre as a key asset in Glasgow’s energy landscape and its net-zero ambitions.

Read more in press release from Gren Energy

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