The facility will divert up to 700,000 tonnes of municipal waste from landfill and generate low-carbon heat and power from non-recyclable waste. This will reduce CO2 emissions by 215,000 tonnes annually.
Each year, London Authorities collect around 3.6 million tonnes of waste and, on average, 33% is recycled. A large portion of the remaining waste is sent to landfills, which is detrimental to the environment. With ambitions for London to become a zero-carbon city by 2050 and recycle 65% of its municipal waste by 2030, waste management is at the top of the agenda.
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) manages waste for over two million residents from seven north London boroughs. NLWA is implementing the North London Heat & Power Project, which will provide a new state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Facility at Edmonton EcoPark in London. The Energy Recovery Facility will replace the old facility, which has been in operation since 1971 and is now reaching the end of its operational life. The project will use non-recyclable residual waste to generate heat and power for up to 127,000 homes, while preventing a significant amount of waste from entering landfills and meeting strict air quality standards.
Ramboll is technical advisor to NLWA in the delivery of its North London Heat & Power Project. We have supported NLWA in initial engineering studies and design development and procurement and will provide owner’s engineering services during project implementation and initial operation of the two-line facility.
Reducing both CO2 emissions and need for fossil fuels
The new Energy Recovery Facility will process up to 700,000 tonnes of residual municipal solid waste annually. The facility uses advanced moving grate combustion, a high-performance heat recovery boiler and low-emission flue gas treatment.
Reducing the need for energy from fossil fuel, the facility will generate up to 78MW (gross) of electrical power, enough to provide electricity for up to 127,000 homes, and it will enable hot water and heating for a district heating network that will supply up to 50,000 local homes and businesses. When it starts operating, it will save up to the equivalent of 215,000 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to if the waste had been sent to landfills, which corresponds to taking 110,000 cars off the road each year.
Improving the air quality in North London was another key requirement for the technical specifications that Ramboll provided. These aim to bring nitrogen oxide emissions well below permitted levels and will entail a significant improvement compared to the existing plant.
The new Energy Recovery Facility is expected to become operational in 2025.
“We are going to set the benchmark with this project: We want the best technology available when it comes to air quality, the best design available in terms of how it looks, and best of all, in my opinion, is we’re going to be able to heat people’s homes for many years to come.”