The Edinburgh-based UK Green Investment Bank is to invest £28 million into a new £142 million waste-to-energy power plant to be built on the outskirts of the capital.
The bank joins an ‘investor club’ which already includes Investec, Siemens Bank and Credit Agricole.
When built at Millerhill, near the Sheriffhall roundabout on the Edinburgh city bypass, the 14.1-MW facility is expected to treat up to 155,000 tonnes of waste every year once complete.
The mainly residential waste will be pre-screened in a mechanical treatment facility to remove recyclable material before entering the energy recovery process.
The plant is forecast to generate approximately 94,000 MWh of electricity annually. It is anticipated that it will avoid greenhouse gas emissions equalling 30,000 tonnes per annum, equivalent to removing 13,800 cars from the road for the lifetime of the project.
The plant will also be combined heat and power (CHP)-ready, meaning it has the potential to supply excess heat from its operations to nearby homes and businesses.
Recycling and waste management company FCC Environment (UK) has been appointed to design, build and operate the plant.
Construction will commence immediately and the project is expected to create up to 350 jobs during this phase, with a further 40 operational jobs being created upon completion in 2019.
Meanwhile, Scottish Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham has allocated £2.5 million of government funding for local projects to boost recycling and tackle climate change
Among those to benefit are East Ayrshire Council, which will receive more than £2 million to implement the Scottish Household Recycling Charter.
She also announced £120,000 for local authority communications to help the public use their food waste service and a further £500,000 to support the work that the national environment agency SEPA and councils are doing to capture harmful methane from closed landfills.
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