Viridor’s new Energy Recovery Facility in Exeter was officially opened on Thursday 16th October with a series of celebrations.
The chairman of Devon County Council, George Gribble formally opened the Facility with a gathering of delegates from Viridor, Devon County Council, construction and initial operating company TIRU/Cyclerval, and local community representatives.
Later in the day the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Baroness Verma visited the Facility and formally opened the Education Room that has been created to enable schools to view the process and understand more about waste recycling, recovery and management.
Ian McAulay, chief executive of Viridor said: “ We want people to see waste differently and recognise its real value as a resource. Each year, Viridor recycles around 2.4 million tonnes of materials and transforms more into 820 gigawatt hours of renewable energy. Our partnership here with Devon County Council and TIRU will contribute to that ever growing achievement for years to come.”
Deputy leader, councillor John Clatworthy said, “With our new facility here in Exeter, we can recover energy from our waste, turn it into electricity, and export it back to the national grid. That reduces the running costs of the plant, as well as creating a useful form of renewable energy. In time, we hope to use the steam too as part of a district heating network, making it a truly efficient process.”
The Exeter Energy Recovery Facility will process 60,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year from the local catchment of Exeter and surrounding area and will export enough electricity to the national grid to supply around 5,000 homes.
