Full Circle Generation Limited today announced Financial Close on their 14.85 MW Energy from Waste project in Belfast. The £107 million project is expected to create up to 250 jobs during construction with an additional 20 employees during operational stage.
The long awaited Full Circle Generation Energy from Waste facility, located adjacent to Bombardier’s wing facility in Belfast’s Harbour Estate, will have the capacity to process up to 180,000mt of feedstock derived from household waste.
Full Circle Generation Limited is made up of a consortium of equity investors which includes RiverRidge Energy Limited, UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB), Equitix and P3P Partners. KPMG Corporate Finance Belfast were instrumental in structuring the all equity deal finance arrangement which underpinned the transaction. The design, build and operate contract was awarded to French construction group Bouygues Energies and Services and will incorporate the use of gasification technology.
Managing Director of RiverRidge Energy and RiverRidge Recycling Limited, Mr Brett Ross, commented; “This is a significant day for not only the Northern Irish waste management sector but also the Northern Irish economy as a whole. The delivery of this critical piece of infrastructure provides a number of stakeholders with a world class facility capable of recovering energy from waste in an environmentally sensitive and acceptable manner as well as the provision of a meaningful base load of renewable energy for Bombardier.”
With the design and preliminary site activities having already begun on the project, the developers are confident of achieving target operational date of late 2017.
A long term feedstock contract for the supply of fuel into the facility has been agreed with Pioneer Fuels Limited a wholly owned subsidiary of RiverRidge Recycling Limited, Northern Ireland’s largest independent waste management company. The recovery of this volume of refuse derived fuel will go a long way to ensuring Northern Ireland’s Local Authorities are able to comfortably meet their annual landfill diversion targets through to 2020.
Today’s announcement has been welcomed by Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell, who said: “This multi million pound project is hugely significant, not just for Belfast but for the Northern Ireland economy as a whole, as it will create hundreds of jobs and protect many more. As well as creating 250 construction jobs and 20 full-time posts once the facility is operational, it will also provide a competitive energy source for Bombardier, which is our largest manufacturing employer.”
Green Investment Bank, which has been highly active in developing similar renewable projects over the last number of years throughout the UK, welcomed the development.
Shaun Kingsbury, Chief Executive of the UK Green Investment Bank, added; “Northern Ireland was the location of one of our earliest investments and it gives us great pleasure to announce another significant financial commitment to the country’s green infrastructure network. The plant will generate cleaner, greener electricity that can be used to the benefit of local employers while helping local authorities and businesses meet waste reduction targets.”
It is expected that this will be Northern Ireland’s largest Energy from Waste facility to qualify for incentives under the Renewable Obligation Scheme. This scheme was designed to allow for the development of emerging technologies such as gasification to be delivered across the United Kingdom.
