Newhaven Energy Recovery Facility official opening
Newhaven Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) which forms an integral part of the overall waste management and treatment solution for East Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council was officially opened today (July 4).
The Newhaven project developed by Veolia Environmental Services represents a £160m capital investment in the area and various orders placed locally during the construction phase totalled over £10m.
Five hundred temporary posts were created during construction and forty new jobs have been created with forty people now employed permanently on the site of which 70% live locally.
The facility is contributing to maximising landfill diversion whilst saving the taxpayer over £2.5m per annum in waste disposal costs.
The ERF operates under highly controlled conditions and converts waste left over after recycling into electricity for the National Grid. The facility will provide enough electricity to power 25,000 homes with the opportunity to provide heat for nearby users. Emissions are monitored constantly and the Environment Agency has stringent requirements for the operation of the plant.
County Council Leader Peter Jones said: “I am very pleased to be opening the energy recovery facility, which reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill, produces electricity, and will save taxpayers £2.5 million in waste disposal costs in this year alone.
“Virtually nothing leaves the ERF as a waste. Ferrous metals are extracted by magnets and sold on as scrap metal and the incinerator bottom ash is used in road construction.
“We have nearly doubled our recycling rates since joining the integrated waste contract with Veolia and Brighton & Hove and we are fulfilling our pledge that there will be no new landfill or land raise in East Sussex for municipal waste.
“The coming years will therefore see a further transformation in how we deal with waste as we work towards our goal of ever more sustainable waste resource management.”
Robert Hunt, Executive Director, Veolia Environmental Services UK said “The opening of the Newhaven Energy Recovery Facility represents the final piece of the jigsaw in our provision of key infrastructure to Brighton & Hove and East Sussex. As well as generating the power for 25,000 homes it is hoped that there will be the opportunity to provide heat for nearby users and so create more local jobs.
“This is clear evidence of the opportunities created by investment in the delivery of local infrastructure projects and we are also involved in a number of community based projects which already receive our active support.”
For more information see: www.veoliaenvironemtnalservices.co.uk/southdowns or join in the conversation on Twitter @Veolia_ES_UK #Newhaven.