Multifuel Energy Limited 2 Completes Purchase of Skelton Grange Multifuel Waste-to-Energy Site

Proposed facility will divert 410,000 tonnes of waste from landfill annually.

Multifuel Energy Limited 2 (MEL2), the 50:50 joint venture between Wheelabrator Technologies and SSE Thermal recently completed the purchase of 19.5 acres of land at the Skelton Grange site in Leeds, marking an important next step in the development of the Skelton Grange Multifuel waste-to-energy project. Construction of the proposed waste-to-energy facility is expected to commence in 2021.

The Skelton Grange waste-to-energy facility, which was granted planning consent for an increased capacity in February 2020, will divert around 410,000 tonnes (459,000 tons) of non-recyclable household and business waste from landfill or export and instead use it to generate 45MW (gross) / 39MW (net) of renewable baseload energy per annum, equivalent to the needs of around 100,000 UK homes. Located on a site acquired from leading land and property regeneration company Harworth Group plc, the facility is strategically located to treat non-recyclable waste from a catchment area which has a projected capacity shortfall of over 1M tonnes (1.1M tons) per annum.

Skelton Grange is less than 15 miles from Ferrybridge 1 and Ferrybridge 2, which are part of the successful Multifuel Energy Limited 1 (MEL1) joint venture between Wheelabrator Technologies and SSE Thermal.

Ferrybridge 1 commenced commercial operations in July 2015 and Ferrybridge 2 reached full commercial operations in December 2019. Each facility processes 675,000 tonnes (755,000 tons) of non-recyclable waste per annum and they generate 79MW (gross) / 72MW (net) of renewable baseload energy.

“Completing the purchase of the land for Skelton Grange marks another significant milestone for Wheelabrator Technologies and the MEL joint venture. Skelton Grange Multifuel will further improve the UK’s waste-to-energy infrastructure at this critical time – not only will it safely treat waste byproducts and divert non-recyclable waste from landfill, it will prevent the need for export of waste to Europe, reduce greenhouse gases, recycle metals that would otherwise go to landfill and generate renewable baseload energy. We look forward to construction commencing in 2021.”

“We remain fully committed to providing our essential waste disposal service to our customers and communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst ensuring the safety of our people, contractors and communities remains our number one priority. In these challenging times, we continue to focus on how to best deliver the critical infrastructure required to support the safe and reliable treatment of non-recyclable waste, both now and in the future.”

Julia Watsford, UK Managing Director, Wheelabrator Technologies

“SSE Thermal is looking forward to progressing the Skelton Grange Multifuel project as part of our joint venture with Wheelabrator Technologies, following the successful completion of our nearby Ferrybridge Multifuel facilities. We’re pleased to have reached this key milestone in the development of this proposed project.”

Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director, SSE Thermal

“This is a fantastic deal for all concerned and follows many months of working diligently with key stakeholders including Leeds City Council and the Canals & Rivers Trust to reach completion. The re-use of the site for energy generation has been a long time coming since the former Power Station stopped producing electricity in 1994 and we look forward to supporting Wheelabrator and SSE in the scheme’s construction and operation.”

Matthew Smith, Senior Asset Manager, Harworth Group plc