Consultation launched on Stoke super-incinerator
Plans to build a waste incinerator large enough to power up to 50,000 homes in Stoke-on-Trent have gone out for public consultation.
Earlier this year Stoke-on-Trent City Council revealed plans to replace its ageing Hanford facility, which converts around 210,000 tonnes of household rubbish into heat energy every year, with a new “Hanford 2.0”.
The incinerator, with its landmark 250ft-tall chimney stack, has been in operation since 1997.
But an existing contract to operate the facility comes to an end in 2030, prompting a rethink designed to accommodate the city’s growing population.
The authority says a larger plant would “future-proof” its waste disposal operations, and deliver a range of environmental and economic benefits to the city, having ruled out other possibilities, such as refurbishing the existing site.
A search for an operator for a proposed new operator was launched in February.
“We are exploring being the majority stakeholder in the new facility, bringing on board a minority partner to help us finance, build and run it,” said Cllr Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, speaking earlier this year.
“This would require some significant upfront investment, but it means that instead of paying to use the facility, the Council would make a profit from it thanks to the sale of exported electricity and heat and gate fees charged to third-party customers to treat their waste. The council could use this money to invest in improving the city’s recycling infrastructure and other Net Zero projects to help boost recycling rates, minimise waste and reduce our environmental impact.”
A consultation is set to run until Friday, 26 June, which the city council says will inform its proposals ahead of a planning application for the new facility, expected later this year.
If approved, the new facility is expected to be operational by 2032.
The Hanford ERF consultation can be viewed online via the council’s website.
