Low Carbon and WEPP have announced the sale of Doveryard Limited to funds managed by Octopus Renewables, which will see the construction of the waste-to-energy facility on the Oldhall Industrial Estate in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. The planned facility, which has been in development for the last three years, will export 17 MW of low carbon electricity, enough to power 30 000 homes with the ability to provide high quality heat and steam to nearby high value businesses.

This facility will be one of the first large scale, subsidy-free waste-to-energy projects in western Scotland, and will bring with it best available technology (BAT), an EPC contractor with over 40-years’ experience, and a leading renewables investor.

The project will also benefit from long-term feedstock agreements signed with both Enva and Geminor to supply the plant with the bulk of the 185 600 tpy required. These experienced suppliers will benefit the project and deliver an advanced residual waste solution to the local region.

North Ayrshire Council have remained very supportive of the project since its inception and the project partners look forward to a long and fruitful relationship. The longer-term ambition of the project is to provide high quality steam and heat to local businesses, most notably the forthcoming i3 business park development, and support the council in achieving its low carbon objectives.

The project and land agreements were advised on by Ashurst LLP and TLT LLP respectively, and all technical aspects of the project transaction were supported by Fichtner Consulting Engineers.

Dominic Noel Johnson, Investment Director at Low Carbon, said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone with our development partner, WEPP, and to have completed our first transaction with Octopus Renewables. This project is an excellent example of how to develop and structure greenfield projects from scratch in new markets with new partners. We are grateful to continue to play our part in a low carbon energy future for Scotland and look forward to seeing this project enter its next stage of development and the benefits it will bring to the local community.”

Mark Denham, CEO of Waste Energy Power Partners commented: “What makes this project unique is the real impact it will have in the local area – its capacity to power thousands of homes, divert waste that would otherwise be exported or sent to landfill, and the economic benefits on local employment and business from this significant investment. We hope that this will provide a blueprint for similar projects in the future across the UK, as it is only by bringing together the right partners to work together and share expertise that it has been possible for us to get this development off the ground.”

Peter Dias, Investment Director, Octopus Renewables commented: “As one of the UK’s leading specialist investors in energy generation, we are thrilled to be able to acquire this landmark project for our investors. The project will play a crucial role in supporting Scotland’s target to ban landfill by 2025, enabling the waste to be used as a fuel source instead, and demonstrating the potential of technologies such as waste-to-energy in the UK’s diversified energy mix. It has been a pleasure working alongside Low Carbon, WEPP, and the other partners on this deal and we look forward to progressing the project into construction and operation.”

Michelle Scott General Manager, Enva commented: “The Oldhall Recovery Project will play an important role in continuing to diversify Scotland’s energy mix and reducing the reliance on traditional fossil fuels. Unlocking the energy value of waste that cannot be recycled makes both environmental and economic sense and we look forward to working with all parties to deliver a consistent supply of high quality and sustainable fuel.”

James Maiden, Managing Director, Geminor commented: “Geminor UK is very pleased that the development process for the Oldhall Recovery Project is now complete and look forward to preparing for and implementing the fuel supply plans following the construction phase of the project. The Oldhall Project is a welcome addition to Geminor’s growing domestic offtake capacity, which will be employed to serve our long established customer base in Scotland.”