Acciona named preferred bidder for £150m north-east EfW plant

A consortium led by Acciona has been named as preferred bidder for an energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in north-east Scotland.The £150 million Ness Energy project is a joint scheme for Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council. It will take non-recyclable waste from the three council areas and burn it, with the energy produced sent to a district heating network.A final decision on whether to proceed with the project will be taken individually by the three councils in early March. Each council will be asked to approve the recommendation to award the contract as well as inter-authority agreement that defines how the councils will work together. The contract will then be signed shortly after.The decision to choose Acciona’s consortium comes after a two-year procurement process. Acciona will lead the project using its own in-house construction team to build the plant. Waste company Indaver will then operate the plant for a 20-year contract period. Indaver currently owns and operates EfW facilities in Ireland, Belgium and Netherlands.The plant is due to is to be built by 2022 in the East Tullos area of Aberdeen and planning permission was granted in October 2016. From 1 January 2021, Scottish councils will be banned from putting any biodegradable municipal waste into landfill.The three councils decided to work together in 2015 to secure a long-term waste management solution for the north-east with the tender notice issued early 2017.