Biffa has announces that it has reached financial close on the Protos Energy-from-Waste (‘EfW’) facility in Cheshire, alongside its joint venture partners, Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.
The facility, located near Ellesmere Port, is a significant addition to the UK’s waste management infrastructure, and is the second such facility for Biffa, following the commencement of construction at the Newhurst EfW facility in Leicestershire. It supports the Government’s drive to both reduce reliance on landfill and treat more non-recyclable waste at home, decreasing the UK’s dependence on export.
The facility will provide 400,000 tonnes of annual treatment capacity for non-recyclable household and Industrial & Commercial (I&C) waste and will also be capable of generating 49 megawatts of low carbon electricity, enough to power around 90,000 homes.
This project demonstrates our commitment to helping the UK to build the recycling and energy from waste infrastructure it needs to reduce its reliance on unnecessary export or landfill of valuable resources.
Like the Newhurst project before it, the Protos project consortium benefits from Biffa’s expertise and scale in waste management and control of significant feedstocks with Covanta’s development and operational experience in EfW. Covanta will supply operations and maintenance services whilst Biffa will provide the fuel for the facility with over 60% of the feedstock sourced from Biffa’s own operations, providing a vital outlet for non-recyclable waste.
Construction of the facility will be led by a joint venture between Mytilineos S.A and Standardkessell Baumgarte GmbH, both of whom have a long and successful track record of delivering infrastructure projects in the UK and around the world. The facility is expected to provide significant economic opportunities to the local and regional area, both during the three-year construction phase and upon its completion.
The total project construction cost, excluding financing costs, will be c£345-355m, with Biffa owning a 25% equity stake in the facility. As previously disclosed, Biffa’s financial commitment to the project will amount to £35m, which will be invested over the coming three years from existing facilities.
Michael Topham, Biffa’s Chief Executive commented: “We are pleased to have reached this important milestone together with our partners and to be taking another step towards improving the UK’s waste infrastructure and creating a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. This project demonstrates our commitment to helping the UK to build the recycling and energy from waste infrastructure it needs to reduce its reliance on unnecessary export or landfill of valuable resources.”