ETI seeks proposals for next gen waste to energy plant 16 April 2012

ETI (the Energy Technologies Institute public-private partnership) is seeking partners for a £13 million project to help design and build a next generation energy – electricity and heat – from waste demonstrator plant.

ETI is focused on accelerating the development of affordable, clean and secure technologies to help the UK meet its legally binding 2050 climate change targets, and this project sits within the ETI's Bio Energy programme.

Dr David Clarke, chief executive of the ETI, says that the goal is to demonstrate the commercial viability of a new plant design, and its ability to produce energy at efficiencies higher than previously possible.

"Bio Energy should be a key component of any future energy systems mix to meet the demands of providing affordable, clean and secure energy," states Clarke.

"We have already completed an extensive analysis of the existing energy from waste technologies, as well as the breakdown of typical UK municipal, commercial and industrial waste," he continues.

"From this research we believe that improved technology for the integrated gasification of waste, together with gas clean-up and subsequent combustion of this cleaned gas in either a gas reciprocating engine or turbine, would provide an effective and efficient solution."

Clarke believes that such a plant could be designed by 2014 and operational by 2016 – and hence ETI's request for proposals, with a deadline of Thursday 7th June and closing date for submissions of Monday 2nd July.

"Our modelling indicates that such a plant design could operate at a net efficiency of 25%, which significantly exceeds the performance of current plants in operation," he says.

2Successful design of such a plant also provides an opportunity to move away from the inefficiency and reducing availability of landfill sites. This waste could contribute up to four per cent of UK energy by 2050."

Brian Tinham

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