Aberdeen’s under-construction waste incinerator plant has been issued with a permit to operate by the government’s environment watchdog.
The £150 million Ness Energy Project facility will, once completed, take rubbish that can’t be recycled from the three council areas of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
It is designed to help the local authorities reduce the volume of waste in their regions going to landfill, and is planned to burn 150,000 tonnes of unrecyclable material every year, with heat and electricity being produced from the process.
There have been a number of concerns raised about the potential for harmful pollution coming from the plant, which is currently being built in East Tullos.
This week, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) officially granted its permission for the facility to operate, as long as key conditions are followed.
Why Sepa gave the go-ahead
A spokeswoman for Sepa said the permit was granted “following careful consideration of the application and responses received during the consultation process”.
She said: “A thorough assessment of the proposals was conducted and no potential for significant pollution has been identified.
“And the preventative measures against pollution proposed by the applicant have been determined to represent best available techniques.
“Sepa has set conditions within the permit to ensure a high level of environmental protection is maintained.”
The spokeswoman also explained the permit comes with “commissioning conditions”
These are designed to ensure the Aberdeen incinerator plant “cannot proceed to full operation until they are able to demonstrate the plant will be operated to comply with all requirements of the permit”.
What are the conditions Sepa set?
The conditions Sepa set are intended to make sure the environment is protected as much as possible from harm.
They include the types of waste accepted, how it will be handled and disposed of and the setting of strict emission limits.
It has also set conditions for emissions to be monitored and reported, and for any noise and odours to be controlled.
When will the site be up and running?
A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said the infrastructure company Acciona, the facility’s operator, “is scheduled to accept the three council’s waste late in 2022 with the first waste processed shortly thereafter”.
However, there have been issues during the construction phase, including recent walk-outs by workers in a row over unpaid wages.
The project as a whole has faced numerous delays since the council first made the business case for the incinerator in 2013.
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