Foresight and UK Green Investment Bank back new £60m 10MWe gasification plant in Hertfordshire

UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB), through its fund manager Foresight, has invested £30 million to develop a 10 MW Waste to Energy (WtE) gasification facility in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.

The project represents a new phase in the development of the UK waste market with advanced technology combined with a merchant waste supply. It will be the first commercial scale, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) gasification plant to be construction financed by third party investors.

The gasification technology, which will treat commercial and industrial waste, will be designed by Biomass Power Limited (based in Stafford), with Bouygues Energy & Services acting as EPC and O&M Contractor.

The 10 MW plant, developed by AssetGen Partners, will be powered by more than 90,000 tonnes of RDF sourced from the commercial and industrial sectors and supplied by two of the UK’s leading established waste suppliers, Biffa and Powerday.

The plant is to be constructed 22 miles north east of London. Work on the plant will begin shortly and it is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2017.

The total project investment is estimated at £60 million (US$92.3 million). GIB, through its fund manager, Foresight, is investing £30 million in a combination of shareholder loans and equity with co-investors NOY and P3P providing £20 million and £10 million respectively on the same terms.

GIB’s investment through Foresight is in addition to the recently announced Recycling & Waste LP (RaW) fund, which will target smaller waste and recycling projects up to a total value of £30m.