£340 million Kemsley energy-from-waste facility reaches financial close

Wheelabrator Technologies’ £340 million Kemsley energy-from-waste facility recently achieved financial close. The plant will consume 550,000 tonnes of waste per annum from South East England, to generate 43 megawatt of sustainable electricity as well as supply a local papermill with steam.

Waste Management subsidiary, Wheelabrator Technologies, recently financially closed its £340 million project to build and operate a 550,000 tonnes per annum energy-from-waste facility in Kent, UK. Much of that waste will come from Kent and the South East of England, and would otherwise have ended in landfills in the UK or exported to European facilities for processing.

Once fully operational, which is expected to be 2019, the plant will generate 43 megawatt of sustainable electricity at full capacity. The project will, in addition, supply a nearby papermill with steam.

Arup will work with contractor Clugston Construction, and principal contractor CNIM Group, to provide building design for the Kemsley plant. The firm will, among others, provide civil, structural and geotechnical engineering, as well as consulting and review on mechanical, electrical and plumbing building services.

Ben Glover, Associate Director and Energy & Waste Buildings Business Leader at Arup, says, “As an industry we are increasingly acknowledging how valuable waste is as a resource for generating energy, but also the treatment of waste through an Energy from Waste plant reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Facilities like these are shining examples of how great engineering can produce both environmental and economic benefits.”

Paul Green, Managing Director at Wheelabrator, says, “To achieve financial close is a significant milestone and I’m very proud of our team for making this possible, and excited to welcome a second facility in the UK to our fleet.”