Covanta, Green Investment Group Reach Financial Close on Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility

Covanta Holding Corporation and Green Investment Group Limited (GIG) announced that the Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility in Bedfordshire, England, has reached financial close and will commence construction. Covanta and GIG will each own 40 percent of the facility, and primary waste supplier Veolia ES Limited will own the remaining 20 percent.

“We are pleased to have reached this key milestone on the Rookery project, which is a major component of our U.K. development plan and the second of four initial projects to move forward with GIG," said Covanta CEO and President Stephen J. Jones in a statement. “The Rookery project brings into full view the capabilities of our partnership with GIG and our commitment to the U.K. market, and we look forward to investing in the local community and serving the region with much-needed sustainable waste treatment. Rookery also marks the first project in the U.K. where we will assume an operating role, and we are thrilled to contribute this core expertise to the project.”

“GIG and Covanta have an ambition to deliver a joint portfolio of world-class waste management infrastructure that will reduce landfill, lower emissions and transform 2 million tonnes of residual waste a year into heat and power for communities and industry across the U.K. I’m delighted that we get one step closer to realizing that ambition today,” said Ed Northam, head of GIG Europe, in a statement. “GIG’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a greener global economy, and I believe Rookery can play an important role in helping the U.K. meet its goal of maximizing the value of our resources to create a cleaner, greener, healthier planet.”

The Rookery facility will provide 545,000 tonnes of annual treatment capacity for non-recyclable waste, further enabling the U.K. to achieve national self-sufficiency in managing waste and compliance with landfill diversion targets. Veolia will deliver the majority of Rookery’s waste supply under a long-term contract, with the balance of the waste sourced through other commercial, industrial and municipal counterparties. In processing this waste, Rookery will generate more than 60 megawatts of electricity that will be sold into the grid on a merchant basis, powering the equivalent of more than 112,500 homes.

“Veolia is excited to play its part in this major infrastructure project of which we have now delivered 10 in the U.K. We are happy to have been able to share our expertise in technical design and construction, as well as waste supply and energy markets optimization, which have been integral to its success to date,” said Gavin Graveson, executive vice president for Veolia U.K. and Ireland, in a statement. “Rookery will provide much-needed residual waste recovery capacity, the majority of which Veolia will be supplying from its local authority and commercial customers, to create energy for the grid from non-recyclable waste to reduce the need for landfill.”

Construction of the facility will be led by Hitachi Zosen Inova under a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract and is expected to take approximately 36 months to complete. More than 300 jobs will be created during the construction period, providing related benefits to the local economy. Many opportunities will also be created for the local supply chain, with a commitment from the project to purchase goods and services from local companies wherever possible. Covanta will provide technical oversight during construction and will supply operations and maintenance services when the project commences operations in 2022.