The Princess Royal opens Veolia’s 8MW UK EfW facility

Veolia’s 8MW Battlefield Energy Recovery Facility in Shropshire, UK, has been officially opened by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal.

The site, located in Shrewsbury and developed by Veolia on behalf of Shropshire Council, has been built to help transform the area’s residents’ residual waste into a resource.

The facility processes 90,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste from across the county, generating 8MW of low carbon energy – enough to power 10,000 homes via the National Grid.

The Shrewsbury plant is part of a 27-year contract between Shropshire Council and Veolia.

Over the past 10 years, Veolia has worked closely with the council to develop an integrated approach to the county’s waste management and recycling.

“This facility is part of a long-term investment in recycling and recovery infrastructure over the lifetime of the contract and will significantly contribute towards maximising landfill diversion,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive VP at Veolia UK and Ireland.

Shropshire Council chairman, councillor Ann Hartley, called Battlefield an “excellent facility” that is at the heart of the council’s commitment to sustainability and making the best use of the region’s resources.

“It allows us to divert non-recyclable waste away from landfill and into a green energy, and complements the new household recycling centres we have opened and the improvements to our kerbside recycling service,” Hartley said.

“All these developments have helped to increase our recycling rate, which for many years has been above the national average. As recycling rates go up, the amount of waste going to landfill has fallen hugely benefiting the county’s environment,” she continued.

The plant began construction in October 2012 and became fully operational in May 2015.

At its peak more than 180 construction workers worked on the building and it now employs 24 members of staff in highly skilled positions.