Energy recovery facility plans set for approval

Plans to develop an energy recovery facility with the potential to power about 45,000 homes on a site in South Yorkshire look set to get the go-ahead next week (1 March 2022).BH Energy Gap (Doncaster) submitted a planning application to Doncaster Council in 2020 for development on land to the north west of Sandall Stones Road, Kirk Sandall Industrial Estate.Approval is sought for the construction of an energy recovery facility for the thermal treatment of residual waste and the recovery of metals, ash and other residues for recycling, as well as associated infrastructure.The proposed facility would process waste materials and generate electricity on a 24-hour basis. It would treat up to 300,000 tonnes per annum of commercial and industrial waste and/or municipal waste.The development would produce about 34 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to power to more than 45,000 homes.It has been estimated that, once operational, the facility would create about 46 permanent full-time jobs. About 300 people would also be employed during construction.The application will go before the council’s planning committee on 1 March and is recommended for approval, subject to the signing of a legal agreement, in an officer’s report prepared for the meeting.The application is located opposite a municipal waste transfer station operated on behalf of Doncaster Council by Suez.Planning permission was granted for an energy recovery facility involving gasification of waste in 2010. The new plans seek to modify the proposed technology from gasification to combustion with associated energy recovery.