Not so NEAT plant to be bulldozed

by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

The research centre where a 'ground-breaking' gasification technology was being developed for use in the treatment of Scottish Borders domestic refuse is set to be demolished after the company promoting the process was dissolved with reported liabilities of £3.5 million.

Borders councillors and senior officers heralded their multi-million pounds deal with New Earth Solutions Group as a partnership which would revolutionise waste disposal in Scotland using so-called New Earth Advanced Thermal technology or (NEAT) to turn garbage into electricity.

The flagship scheme was to involve construction of a £23 million treatment facility at Easter Langlee, on the outskirts of Galashiels capable of dealing with 40,000 tonnes of rubbish from Borders households, thereby removing the need for landfill.

But although those involved at the local authority repeatedly claimed they had undertaken 'due diligence' before and during their dealings with New Earth, as our regular readers will know the venture proved disastrous when the NEAT system would not function properly, and money to pay for the Galashiels plant could not be sourced. 

Elected members pulled the plug in 2015 after being told development of the NEAT system being worked on at Canford, Dorset, faced further delays of "up to two years". By this time the high-risk alliance with New Earth had cost Borders taxpayers at least £2.4 million.

Local councillors had also been impressed after a site visit to another New Earth plant at Avonmouth, near Bristol in 2014 to see their contractor's machinery in action.

However, a review of Advanced Gasification Technologies commissioned by the UK Government which was published last year had harsh words for the Avonmouth centre.

According to the study: "NEAT had a single operational plant at Avonmouth which was closed in 2016. CONCLUSION: New Earth became insolvent in 2016 and the NEAT gasifier was discontinued. The NEAT process has not been proven and will not be considered in any further detail in this study".

SBC's deal with New Earth, amended in 2012, meant that in effect SBC had signed up to the NEAT technology even before it had been trialled at Canford.

A confidential report to SBC by consultants - later made public on the orders of the Scottish Information Commissioner - explained that a revised programme meant the detailed design of the Canford project would be completed by April 2014, and construction of the Canford demonstration facility would commence in July 2014.

 "The facility itself will, on this programme, only become operational in July 2015, and revised schedule for the Easter Langlee facility – i.e. start on site in June 2016 – implicitly assumes that there will be no significant problems at Canford. If there are, then one could anticipate further delays, or even cancellation, of the Easter Langlee ATT facility.

 "This could leave us hanging on the outcome of the Canford trials, over which we have no control, and if those were to fail or (more likely) take longer than anticipated to succeed, then we would still potentially be exposed to the risk of having no treatment solution in place for the Council’s residual waste."

Following the Borders debacle, New Earth Advanced Thermal Technologies Ltd. became Syngas Products Ltd., and work continued at their Canford base. But according to the last published accounts, covering 2020, the business had outstanding liabilities totalling £3.5 million. Syngas Products Ltd. was finally dissolved in January of this year. 

The proposed demolition of the Canford "research" centre is a key element in a planning application recently submitted to the local council in Poole which seeks permission to construct a different form of incinerator on site.

German-based MVV Environment Limited (the applicant) has submitted a full planning application for a Carbon Capture Retrofit Ready (CCRR) Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power (EfW CHP) Facility.

The primary purpose of the plant will be to treat council collected household residual waste and  commercial and industrial waste from Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and surrounding areas, that cannot be recycled, reused or composted and that would otherwise be landfilled or exported to alternative energy from waste [EfW] facilities further afield, either in the UK or Europe. 

According to the applicants: "The proposed development would recover useful energy in the form of electricity and hot water from up to 260,000 tonnes of non-recyclable (residual), non-hazardous municipal, commercial and industrial waste each year." It would represent an investment of £290 million.

The planning papers in support of the scheme which is already attracting local opposition state: "A partially constructed and commissioned but no longer operational low carbon gasification and pyrolysis energy from waste facility occupies much of the site. This will be removed as part of the proposed development. It comprises a building, external plant and 35m high chimney."