The EFW facility started construction in September 2013 and was completed in June 2016. The facility will treat up to 300,000 tonnes of residual (non-recyclable) waste, diverting it from landfill and generating 22MW of electricity in the process. The facility uses proven robust technology and is the 4th EFW in the FCC Environment UK portfolio. It includes state of the art gas cleaning and emissions monitoring systems as well as four large forced convection coolers.

An EFW is a facility where non-recyclable waste is burned, with the resulting steam powering a turbine, which generates electricity. Some plants are also able to provide direct heating for local properties. The waste going to an EFW would otherwise have been disposed of in a landfill site. This plant is the UK’s largest single grate EFW facility.

There are generally two types of outputs, solid waste which includes metals and ash from the incinerator. At Greatmoor the metals are collected and recycled, while the ash still goes to landfill (but at a small fraction of the volume to that taken up by the waste). The other outputs are flue gases, which undergo a rigorous physical and chemical cleansing process (under the strict auspices of an Environmental Agency permit) before being released. The steam powers the turbine and is then cooled before being fed back into the boiler.

Should you require any transport to the plant, please contact Dr Nigel Heywood to discuss the option of organising private cars to get to the plant.