(UK)
An innovative resource management company is breathing new and sustainable life into landfill sites in the UK.
Veolia – in collaboration with Ethical Power and REG Power Management – is spearheading a ‘landfill restoration’ initiative to transform the sites, with a real focus placed on clean energy.
The company has received planning consent to progress with renewable energy projects in three UK locations, in Essex, Hampshire and Warwickshire. The three will be capable of generating in excess of 70 megawatts of green power for the national grid system, equivalent to meeting the electricity needs of 185,000 homes.
“A primary example of landfill green energy generation is the Netley landfill site in Hampshire, where a solar farm has already been installed that will generate approximately five megawatts and power approximately 13,000 homes, per year. This came online in spring 2017 and following the success of this site we’re working with our partners to extend the capacity at Netley [Hampshire] up to twelve megawatts, while rolling out this project across other landfill sites, including Ling Hall near Rugby and Ockendon in Essex,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, Senior Executive Vice-President for Veolia UK and Ireland.
A number of other projects are in the planning stage as the trio seek to maximise the potential of these eyesores.
Stuart Whiteford, Investment Director at Ethical Power, responsible for Netley added: “At Ethical Power we continue to be committed to fulfilling our ambition of delivering cost effective clean energy, we have adopted innovative approaches to design and implementation of solar schemes, in particular on less sensitive or productive land, such as landfill. Currently landfill occupies 2,000 hectares in the UK, which is potentially 800MW of solar generation, and of course does not include other brownfield sites, such as industrial and contaminated land.”
