According to a statement from Viridor, the two companies are now beginning the “exciting journey to develop potential projects together” to capture heat from the facilities.
Once captured, the heat will be “delivered through pipes developed and operated by Vattenfall to homes and businesses in the area, providing clean, affordable heat”, the statement added.
Viridor operates 11 EfW facilities across the UK and says it “is continuing to expand its operations in new locations”.
These include plants near areas of urban regeneration which “present great opportunities for new-build and existing properties to be served by district heating networks in the coming years”.
Mike Reynolds, managing director at Vattenfall Heat UK commented: “It made perfect sense for one of the market leaders in energy recovery facilities to collaborate with one of the market leaders in delivering clean heat to customers across Europe. This type of cooperation is important to Vattenfall as we build out our business in conjunction with key players in the UK energy landscape. We have a shared vision of serving our communities with clean, efficient and low-cost services. Together we will be able to really inspire bolder and braver thinking and ultimately faster decarbonisation.”
UK market
The deal with Viridor comes on the back of a number of similar partnerships which Vattenfall, a Swedish state-owned company, has struck with UK firms
In May, Cory Riverside Energy also announced a partnership with Vattenfall to capture heat from its facilities in south east London (see letsrecycle.com story).
Vattenfall is also involved in the district heating scheme for FCC Environment’s £142 million facility in Millerhill, having been named as Midlothian council’s energy partner (see letsrecycle.com story).
Collaboration
This type of collaboration is common across the continent, where Vattenfall already works with a number of EfW owners and operators.
Viridor said that the approach being taken by pair also aligns well with UK government policies that support the roll out of district heating in urban areas.
The Government’s “successful flagship Heat Networks Investment Programme and the proposed Green Heat Networks Fund specifically target collaborations between waste heat sources and heat network operators,” Viridor said.
Richard Pennells, Viridor’s managing director of energy, said: “This announcement underlines Viridor’s commitment to ensuring that all waste becomes a useful resource which contributes to the UK economy. Our ERFs put non-recyclable waste to work within sophisticated combined heat and power plants. We are excited about this new collaboration with Vattenfall which combines two leading businesses in their sector to create meaningful change in towns and cities across the UK.”
Tim Rotheray, Viridor’s director of innovation and regulation, added: “Viridor is a business committed to innovation and investment and recognises that collaborations are the key to helping the UK achieve its resource efficiency goals. Working together, with likeminded companies such as Vattenfall, will help Viridor to maximise its contribution to a greener recovery, ensuring that we really do Build Back Better.”
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