Project Update Bulletin 12

The project update bulletin provides the latest progress on the construction of Gloucestershire’s Energy from Waste facility.

Process equipment has started to arrive and is being installed on site, with concrete groundworks continuing. Concrete works to form the base and walls of the electricity transformer hall and the incinerator bottom ash treatment hall, and erection of the steel structures to enclose and support the flue gas treatment equipment are now complete.

Construction of the steel structure for the administration block is ongoing, and the first elements of the main combustion process plant have arrived on site and are being installed. These include the combustion grate and waste feed hopper, combustion air management, bottom ash handling, and the steel structures to support these elements.

Installation of the flue gas treatment equipment will commence next week. Installation of the steam boiler panels, the electricity turbine and generator set, and the conveyors to move bottom ash from the grate to the treatment hall are due to commence in the first half of February.

The trenching and ducting to carry the high voltage power export cable and the fire water mains supply around the site have been completed. The main items of construction equipment include five cranes, five soils excavators, and four dump trucks.

As well as this, there are a variable number of telehandlers for moving machinery and steel around the site and 20 Mobile Elevated Work Platforms (MEWPs) that enable the steel fixers to work at high level. There are currently some 200 staff and site operatives working on site. Under the protocol agreed with the planning and regulatory authorities, some night shifts and weekend hours are being worked, mainly focusing on installing the process plant in the area of the boiler.

Our site operations and Health, Safety, and Environmental performance continue to a high standard. A recent visit from the Environment Agency resulted in no comments, with visits planned by senior management and the retained ecologist to continue to monitor the maintained commitment to delivering high operational, health, safety and environmental standards.

Away from the site, Western Power Distribution’s (WPD) contractor is progressing to programme, with the installation of the power export cable trench and ducting from the site to the WPD substation south of Stonehouse.

The Gloucestershire Energy from Waste facility is part of Gloucestershire Council’s Joint Municipal Waste Strategy to reduce, recycle, and recover waste materials across the county and to move away from reliance on end-of-life landfill.

For more information about the project, please visit www.ubbgloucestershire.co.uk. Our emergency out-of-hours contact telephone number is 07860 268578.