A £107 million energy plant at Belfast’s harbour estate could bring around 250 jobs to the construction sector.

What will be the north’s largest energy-from-waste facility, providing 14.85 megawatts of energy from household waste, will also provide work for an additional 20 employees once it is up and running.

The financial case for the long-awaited Full Circle ‘Generation Energy from Waste’ facility, located adjacent to Bombardier’s wing facility, has just been completed, paving the way for work proper now to begin on site.

Design and preliminary site activities having already begun and developers are confident the facility, which will have the capacity to process up to 180,000 tonnes of feedstock derived from household waste, will be fully operational by late 2017.

The scheme will incorporate the use of gasification technology – a process that converts any material containing carbon into synthesis gas (syngas) which can then be burned to produce electricity or further processed to manufacture chemicals or fertilisers.

Gasification has been reliably used on a commercial scale worldwide for more than 60 years in the refining, fertilizer, and chemical industries – and for more than 35 years in the electric power industry – but is now being used to convert municipal and hazardous waste into valuable products.

Full Circle Generation Ltd is made up of a consortium of equity investors including RiverRidge Energy Limited, UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB), Equitix and P3P Partners.

KPMG Corporate Finance Belfast were instrumental in structuring the all-equity deal finance arrangement with the ‘design, build and operate’ contract awarded to French construction group Bouygues Energies and Services.

Managing director of RiverRidge Energy and RiverRidge Recycling Ltd, Brett Ross, described the announcement as “a significant day” for the Northern Irish waste management sector.

“It is also a significant day for the Northern Irish economy as a whole,” Mr Ross said.

“The delivery of this critical piece of infrastructure provides a number of stakeholders with a world class facility capable of recovering energy from waste in an environmentally sensitive and acceptable manner, as well as the provision of a meaningful base load of renewable energy for Bombardier.”

The construction of the plant will allow for an annual generation capacity of 61GWh, enough renewable energy to power 14,500 homes.
Jonathan Bell, minister of enterprise, trade and investment at the Northern Ireland Assembly, said: “This multi-million pound project is hugely significant, not just for Belfast, but for the Northern Ireland economy as a whole as it will create hundreds of jobs and protect many more.

It will be fueled by feedstock derived of commercial and household waste, with a long-term feedstock contact in place with Pioneer Fuels to provide a continuous source of waste products.

Earlier this year, Northern Ireland’s renewable energy industry received a boost in the form of a fully-funded solar solution which could save businesses up to £320m. Kingspan ESB – a joint venture between building technology firm Kingspan and Ireland’s largest energy company ESB – made photovoltaic (PV) energy available to businesses without the investment normally required in the capital outlay, installation or maintenance of a PV system.

Fine Gael MEP for Dublin, Brian Hayes, today welcomed a letter from the EU Climate Commissioner, which says that Ireland is on course to meet its EU greenhouse gas emissions targets by 2020. Under EU binding targets, Ireland is obliged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, compared to 2005 levels.

“EU Climate Commissioner Arias Canete has informed me that if we take into account flexibility mechanisms under EU rules, Ireland is on course to meet its emissions obligations. For the period 2013-2017, Ireland’s emissions targets could be over-achieved. This would allow emission reductions to be banked and then used for the period 2018-2020. The full implementation of planned measures and renewable targets for transport and heat and energy will ultimately help us to meet our targets.

“One of Ireland’s big difficulties is getting other Member States to recognise Ireland’s challenge as a country that has suffered a major economic downturn. The crisis has restricted Ireland’s ability to direct resources into reducing emissions and therefore some flexibility should be afforded to Ireland.

“Commissioner Canete also stated that according to the latest preliminary assessment of projections, 24 Member States are on course to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by 2020.

“There is much work to do to become a truly low-carbon economy, but it should be recognised that progress is being made through the reduction of energy consumption and an increase in the use of renewable energy. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Ireland is using five times more renewables than in 1990.

“The real challenge lies after 2020, when new obligations will come in and we have to hit more ambitious targets by 2030. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced by 30% compared with 2005 levels. This will require some serious forward planning and I believe the government should develop a long-term national strategy on the reduction of emissions in the context of our international obligations.”