The construction engineering company – formally known as Hitachi Zosen Inova – said that the plant will have a capacity of 436,000 tonnes and will process non-recyclable household and business waste.
This will be its 20th Energy from Waste (EfW) project in the UK. The Swiss company has previously completed three projects for Encyclis, in Ireland, Bedfordshire and Leicestershire.
The single-line facility will use utilise Kanadevia Inova’s boiler combustion technology and will have the potential for the recovery of remaining metals and bottom ash for onwards use.
Encyclis predicted that the site will produce 49MW of electricity and power around 90,000 UK homes.
The plant is located on a disused industrial site and once completed will employ over 300 workers throughout the construction process and 60 full-time jobs once operational.
Encyclis completed a 10-month programme of per-construction construction remediation work on the eight-acre brownfield site one week early.
Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Encyclis, said: “Since announcing the formal commencement of this project 10 months ago, we have been working hard with local partners to prepare the site for construction.
“We are pleased to be entering this next phase in partnership with Kanadevia Inova. When complete, Walsall ERF will provide the West Midlands with vital modern waste treatment infrastructure that not only diverts residual waste from landfill and export but recovers valuable resources from that waste in the form of electricity and reusable materials.
“We are also advancing plans to harness heat from the facility to be the source of a new district heat network, providing low-carbon heat to buildings in the local area. All of this is achieved through significant investment into the region, which will support regeneration, create skilled jobs and drive economic growth through the local supply chain.”
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