Councils agree on preferred bidder for Aberdeen EfW

Three Scottish councils have today (7 March) confirmed their preferred bidder for a contract to build and operate a 150,000-tonnes per year energy from waste plant in Aberdeen.A consortium involving the construction firm Acciona and waste firm Indaver are in line for the ‘Ness Energy Project Residual Waste Treatment’ contract, which is being procured by Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray councils.Artists impression of the 150,000 tonnes per year East Tullos facilityAcciona will build the plant and Indaver will then operate the plant for a 20-year contract period. Indaver currently owns and operates EfW facilities in Ireland, Belgium and Netherlands.After being confirmed as the preferred bidder last month (see letsrecycle.com story) Moray council and Aberdeen council members gave their approval at separate meetings on Monday (March 4) and Aberdeenshire council today agreed the award and the inter authority agreement which defines how they will work together.The councils will continue to work with the contractor towards contract award, they said in a statement today.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.LandfillAll three councils have described delivery of the plant as crucial to their future residual waste infrastructure needs, ahead of a ban on sending biodegradable waste to landfill which comes into effect in Scotland in 2021.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.‘Critical’Consortia comprising FCC and the energy from waste specialist HZI, MVV and Baumgarte, and a Suez partnership with the industrial engineering group CNIM had also been involved in the procurement.