Baldovie Waste to Energy Plant

Located on a 2-ha (5-acre) site on the Baldovie Industrial Estate, to the northeast of Dundee, is the Baldovie Waste to Energy Plant, a state-of-the-art facility opened in 1999. Replacing a waste disposal incinerator which closed in 1996 due to its inability to meet new EU emission regulations, the waste-to-energy plant was the first of its type in the United Kingdom and cost £35 million. The plant is run by Dundee Energy Recycling Ltd, a joint venture between Dundee City Council and private sector partners. The plant processes 120,000 tonnes of municipal and commercial waste each year and not only generates enough electricity to meet its own needs (around 2.2 MW), but is also able to put 8.3 MW into the public supply. It also recovers some 5500 tonnes of metal which can be resold. The alternative for all of this material would be land-fill.

The waste material is delivered, shredded and then ferrous metals are removed using magnets. A further stage of separation removes non-ferrous metals and the residual waste is then fed into twin combustion chambers. The heat derived from combustion is used to power a steam turbine. The flue gases are comprehensively cleaned to meet environmental standards before being expelled through one of two 70m (230 feet) high chimneys.

The company has long-term waste disposal contracts with Dundee City, Angus Council and Greater Glasgow Health Board. It generates further revenue from recycling packaging waste. Such recycling activities will be extended over time, further benefiting the environment.

The old incinerator, which opened in 1979, had been blamed by Friends of the Earth for a potential cancer cluster in the area due to the alleged release of poisonous dioxins.


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