SITA UK’s energy-from-waste plant at Great Blakenham in Suffolk has been connected to the National Grid and begun to export electricity. The facility, part of a 25-year waste management contract between the company and Suffolk County Council, will produce both electricity and heat, with the latter being supplied to an adjacent greenhouse complex. Over the lifetime of the contract the plant is estimated to save the county council around £350 million compared to the cost of sending its residual waste to landfill. It will also take some waste from Norfolk over the next two years.
Operated by Sterling Suffolk Ltd, the new £30 million glasshouse will grow tomatoes around the year and is expected to be operational by the end of the year. The 50 acre facility will grow some 7,500 tonnes a year which will be marketed by The Greenery. It is one of a number of similar projects as power generators and waste management companies look to increase the overall efficiency of new plants.
The Energy-from-Waste plant has created 47 new jobs on site, while the glasshouse could create a further 200 roles.