England’s Environment Agency approves permit for Poole biomass site

England's Environment Agency has granted an environmental permit to MVV Environment Ltd for a proposed energy-from-waste facility at Canford Resource Park, Arena Way, Magna Road, Poole in the country's South West region.
The facility will process up to 260,000 tonnes of residual municipal and commercial waste each year – specifically household, industrial and non-recyclable mixed waste, including non-recyclable wood biomass and residual municipal waste.
It will generate approximately 30 MW gross of electricity, with around 28.5 MW to be exported to the national grid.
In addition, the plant is being designed to supply up to 5 MW of thermal energy to local businesses at the Magna Business Park via a private‑wire connection.
Under the permit, MVV must adhere to strict conditions governing emissions monitoring, site management and mitigation measures for air, water and land pollution.
Design documents describe the 2.4-hectare facility as “carbon‑capture retrofittable” and clearly part of the Canford Resource Park’s integrated waste management operations, which already includes a mechanical biological treatment plant, landfill gas engine, materials recovery facility, inert waste recycling unit and a now-dormant low-carbon gasification/pyrolysis line
Following a detailed review and public consultation process, the agency confirmed that MVV had met all necessary technical and legal requirements under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "We have carefully considered all of the submissions and feedback we received during our public consultations. This permit will ensure that robust levels of environmental protection are applied. Our permitting decision process is objective and based on the applicant demonstrating they will meet the legal requirements outlined in the permit."
The agency emphasised that planning permission and environmental permitting are separate processes. While the permit has now been granted, the site cannot become operational until planning approval is also secured.
With the permit now confirmed, MVV can proceed with detailed design and carbon-capture readiness, while engaging with the planning authority to secure the final approval needed for construction.