Viridor signs Oxfordshire energy-from-waste deal

The contract signing was announced today (March 11) by Viridors parent company, Pennon Group, which said it was in line with its strategy to build and operate energy-from-waste (EfW) plants and to run public-private partnership (PPP) deals.

Colin Drummond, chief executive of Viridor Limited, said: This major contract with Oxfordshire county council confirms Viridors position as a leading player in the area of PPP contracts and energy from waste facilities.

The new plant will have a gross electrical power generation capacity of 25MW and will also be CHP enabled; it is due to come on stream in 2014.

Viridor was originally named as preferred bidder for the waste treatment deal ahead of Waste Recycling Group in September 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story), with the contract previously expected to be signed in September 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story).

However, the proposals for the Ardley EfW have had to overcome numerous planning hurdles, including being rejected by Oxfordshire county councils planning committee in October 2009.

And, todays announcement comes just a couple of weeks after Viridor received the final go-ahead for its planning application for the plant, as communities secretary Eric Pickles decided to allow its appeal against the councils refusal (see letsrecycle.com story).

Construction

The planning approval and contract signing pave the way for work to begin on the facility, and Viridor has said that it plans to commence construction this spring.

The facility will be built by CNIM Clugston Oxfordshire Limited, a joint venture between Clugston Construction Limited and Constructions Industrielles De La Mediterranee.

Viridor has indicated that it plans to fill the remaining capacity of the facility from other, potentially commercial waste, sources.

And, Pennon said today: The Ardley EfW plant is being built primarily for the Oxfordshire PPP contract although the plant will be available for the market more generally, as steeply rising landfill tax drives residual waste disposal away from landfill towards EfW.