Viridor, one of the U.K.’s largest recycling and renewable energy companies, has appointed CNIM S.A. and Clugston Construction Ltd to build a new £252 million Energy Recovery Facility on an industrial site in Avonmouth on the outskirts of Bristol.
Industrial engineering contractor CNIM will provide the established technology for the new, consented facility and Clugston has been appointed as the building and civils contractor. Construction will start this summer, with more than 600 people working on site during peak construction, and 45 permanent roles created during operations.
The facility will enable local authorities and business to transform 320,000 tonnes of nonrecyclable residual waste each year into renewable energy, which would otherwise go to landfill. As part of that transition Viridor recently signed a 25-year contract with Somerset County Council, brokered by Somerset Waste Partnership, which will see about a third of the available capacity at Avonmouth being taken up, by diverting waste that is currently transported to three landfill sites.
Once operational in 2020, the new ERF at Avonmouth will generate 34MW of low carbon energy, supplying National Grid with enough electricity to power 44,000 homes.
The project is committed to delivering local economic benefit including construction roles and supply chain opportunities. CNIM and Clugston, in partnership with Viridor, will be organizing local job fairs and meet the buyer events in due course.
The new facility will become Viridor’s 12th ERF and is the fourth to be developed with CNIM. The new-build project is part of a £1.5 billion investment by Viridor in the UK’s national social infrastructure, supporting the Government’s industrial strategy.
The decision to proceed with the Avonmouth investment was made in November 2016 by Viridor’s parent company Pennon Group Plc, one of the largest environmental infrastructure companies in the UK.