Energy plant set to open extension

Oct 8 2009 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

A £70m extension to a Teesside waste recycling plant funded by Northumberland County Council will open today.

Berkshire-based SITA UK is to officially open its new multi-million pound extension at the Tees Valley energy-from-waste (EfW) site.

The £70m project was built by SITA on behalf of Northumberland County Council as part of its 28-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, signed with the authority.

The green energy facility in Haverton Hill, near Billingham, creates electricity for the National Grid by using non-recycled waste as a fuel to produce enough power to supply around 36,000 homes.

The site has taken waste from the boroughs of Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland since opening 10 years ago, but has been accepting waste from Northumberland since the new extension became operational in May this year – making it SITA UK’s largest EfW site in the country.

During construction, between 60 and 100 jobs were created when building was at its peak, and SITA UK has employed an additional 20 people to operate it on a day-to-day basis.

Sita which is owned by French utility firm Suez Environnement operates 23 sites across the region.