WRG expands into wind energy sector
Waste Recycling Group, together with its Spanish parent company FCC, is planning to build wind turbines on its landfill sites.
Investing £100 million into the project, WRG and FCC expect the wind turbines will produce 80MW of electricity once they are built.
WRG development director Andy Ryan said: “[We looked] at our closed and operational landfill sites around the country and carried out assessment studies to identify those with the most potential. The sites that came out most favourably are now moving forward towards planning and engaging in appropriate public consultation . I’m hoping that the first of those applications should be determined around the half or third quarter of this year.”
The firms are taking advantage of the Renewable Obligations Certificates (ROCs), an incentive scheme encouraging the operation of more renewable energy plants. Additionally, with the recent developments regarding Feed in Tariffs (FITs), an incentive scheme for small renewable energy systems, they believe this sector will become more popular. WRG and FCC revealed that, the FITs system has stimulated them to go back to WRG’s portfolio of landfill sites that were not suitable for large turbines, which could potentially be fitted with small units instead.
Furthermore, the wind turbines will be able to utilise the existing grid connections on WRG’s landfill sites already there for its work capturing landfill gas. It was highlighted that this is particularly advantageous because landfill gas production is expected to drop across the industry going forward.
Ryan said there will soon be further announcements from WRG and FCC regarding the wind turbines. He also disclosed that with the Government’s landfill ban potentially coming into effect, WRG has possible plans to build a processing facility such as a dirty MRF at the front of its landfill sites to capture recyclable materials if commercially viable.
WRG owns over 100 landfill sites across the UK, while FCC operates 14 wind farms in Spain, generating 422MW of electricity.
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