WTE plant goes online in UK

Joint venture partners SSE Thermal and the Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV) fund of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have completed construction and commenced operating a 60 megawatt-equivalent (MWe) waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Slough, England.

The facility, known as Slough Multifuel, has been designed to provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly waste management solution for the Greater London area by processing 480,000 metric tons of residual waste per year, the partners say.

“Slough Multifuel will fulfil an important role in the U.K.’s electricity system and help divert thousands of tons of waste from landfill," says Finlay McCutcheon, managing director of U.K.-based SSE Thermal." The successful delivery of the project is testament to the partnership between SSE and CIP, which spans multiple projects and continues to create genuine value.”

“In addition to this, the low-pressure steam produced will continue to be efficiently piped to [a] neighboring confectionery plant, also located on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire," HZI says, adding that it cleared several hurdles while undertaking the project owing to the construction site’s challenging location, with the nearest neighbor only 1 meter away from the boundary with the WTE facility.

HZI planned the construction phase to avoid disruption to adjacent businesses and worked closely with the clients and multiple local partners, including numerous near neighbor businesses throughout the build and commissioning phases.

Crediting a “just-in-time” delivery system, HZI says the cooperation ensured that the 45-month construction phase was completed ahead of schedule.

“Completing the construction of the Slough Multifuel facility successfully and ahead of schedule brings HZI a great sense of pride,” says Daniel Dreier, an executive vice president with HZI. “Our project team, engineers and subcontractors have delivered another vital piece of U.K. waste-to-energy infrastructure. HZI looks forward to operating this facility on behalf of SSE and CIP, reliably powering local communities and businesses for many years to come.”

"We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone together with our partners in SSE Thermal," adds CIP partner Florian Küster. "Since 2020 we have worked efficiently side-by-side and we are proud to have delivered a plant that makes a significant contribution to the green transition in the U.K. and creates value for society, the local community and our investors.”

The Slough project is HZI's third with SSE, following the building and commissioning of two sister WTE plants at Ferrybridge (West Yorkshire, England) in 2015 and 2019, respectively.

CIP refers to itself as the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind.