Our plans

Our aim is to develop a single facility to deal with waste from the Plymouth, South Hams, Teignbridge, West Devon and Torbay areas. The preferred option of Energy from Waste (EfW) is a clean, reliable technology that is in use across the UK and throughout Europe. One of its biggest benefits is that it also generates electricity and heat. The electricity can either be sold back into the national grid or like the heat, sold on to others to offset running costs. This means that customers using the energy won’t need to use fossil fuels, which is better for the environment.

Having one waste facility close to the main source of waste is also preferable as it will remove the need for waste to be transported long distances across the county to three different locations. By reducing the amount of 'waste miles' travelled, vehicle emissions are kept low, which is more environmentally friendly, and it will help to keep operating costs down too. Building a single facility rather than three also saves valuable material and construction resources through economies of scale - this is also better for the environment.

The facility is likely to cost over £140 million (calculated in April 2008) to build, and it will also cost several million pounds to set up the contract or 'procure'. As a result, there will need to be a long term contract - usually about 25 years so that, like a mortgage, the cost is spread over many years. To assist with this investment, we have been awarded £95 million Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits, but we have to meet strict criteria. One of these is to achieve a minimum of 50% recycling rate by 2020, which is a priority for the partnership.

In applying for funding we prepared an outline business case. This uses a concept called a 'reference project': a theoretical model that includes costs and can be used to show how the proposal might work in practice. It does not mean that the project will go ahead exactly as it is stated in the business case. For instance, it could be based at another site or use a slightly different technology, but the reference project is used to show the scope of the plans, how much it might cost and how it might be managed. Our business case and reference project was submitted for review by the government, along with other similar waste projects from around the country.

Before PFI funding can be awarded, the business case was checked against a set of strict criteria. This includes meeting the needs of the community, environmental factors and ensuring it will provide a sustainable solution for the treatment and disposal of waste.

We are now beginning the procurement process. This will help to define the precise details of the scheme, including location and agreeing the specific technology for the facility.

As part of this procurement process, we will appoint a specialist contractor or 'consortium' as our private sector partner. Once they have established a preferred site they will make a planning application for the facility at that location. The site could be one of the ones that we have considered, or one of the contractor’s own locations. Planning is a complex process, and approval will only be granted if all the planning criteria are met, including visual and environmental factors.

We are keen to provide as much information as possible about the whole process. If you would like more information, or have a question that isn’t on our frequently asked questions page, please email us at info@swdwp.co.uk or contact us.