East Tullos Energy from Waste Environmental Statement Volume 1
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East Tullos Energy From Waste Environmental Statement Volume 1 March 2016 I © Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Non-Technical Summary Overview This summary, presents, in non-technical language, the findings of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that has been undertaken for the proposed East Tullos Energy from Waste (EfW) facility. The purpose of the EIA is to identify how people and environmental resources (collectively known as receptors) could be affected by the proposed EfW facility and to put forward measures (often referred to as mitigation) that will avoid, minimise or offset any negative effects. To achieve this, an Environmental Statement (ES) has been prepared following a consultation (or scoping) exercise, involving the planning department of the Aberdeen City Council and other key organisations. Details of the proposals were widely circulated to these bodies and the public as part of pre-application consultations and the responses received have informed the design, and the scope and content, of the EIA. The full report, the ES, which presents the findings of the EIA has been submitted with a planning application by the Applicant. The studies were carried out by experts in a wide range of disciplines. The planning application is being submitted by Aberdeen City Council under the banner Aberdeen Recycling and Energy. The proposals are being brought forward in partnership with The Moray Council and Aberdeenshire Council. Site and Location The site is approximately two hectares in size and is located within the established East Tullos Industrial Estate on the south side of Aberdeen (National Grid Reference NJ 95426 03997). The site currently comprises a disused gas holder, associated structures and hard standing which are scheduled for demolition during 2016, followed by site remediation works, by the current land owner SGN (previously Scotia Gas Networks). Existing gas utilities crossing the site, along with the culverted East Tullos Burn, will be re-routed along the site boundary as part of these works. East Tullos Industrial Estate lies to the south of the River Dee, and is accessed via the A956 Wellington road, which links Aberdeen with the A90 south of Charlestown. The site is accessed off Greenbank Crescent via Greenbank Road from the junction with Wellington Road. Development Proposals Capacity and waste stream The proposed EfW facility would have the capacity to receive up to 150,000 tonnes of waste every year. The waste stream would be non-recycled household waste and would come from Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and The Moray Councils. The proposed EfW facility would not accept hazardous or clinical waste. This household waste currently goes to landfill, but can only continue to do so until 2021 when a national landfill ban comes into force. This proposal represents the Council’s alternative to landfilling in response to the requirements of the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan. Operations The internal building processes would run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Waste deliveries would be between, 0700 and 1900 Monday to Friday and, 0700 to 1300 on Saturdays. To accommodate for emergencies and potential future changes in waste delivery patterns, a 24 hour waste/7 day delivery scenario has also been considered. The plant would be managed by 20 staff including office and operational shift staff. March 2016 Doc Ref. 37482/D040/rr009i1 II © Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Layout and design The East Tullos EfW facility comprises the erection of a main building, which would house the majority of process plant, and would have a stack. This building would incorporate an enclosed waste tipping hall, the combustion chamber, offices and welfare facilities. A second smaller building would house the air cooled condenser unit and the combined heat and power plant. The facility would also include external associated plant, weighbridge, internal roads, site access points off Greenbank Crescent and car parking. There is no external storage of waste on-site. Landscape and drainage proposals are also included. The design of the main building represents an architectural statement recognising that this is a large scale building. The shape of the building responds to the landscape and the materials respond to the sky, the surrounding landscape and the industrial estate. The orientation of the building seeks to reduce its scale from residential views from the north. Processes The waste would arrive onsite in refuse collection and bulk vehicles and there would be no pre-treatment of waste at the site. Vehicles would tip within the enclosed building where the waste would be transferred into the combustion chamber. This would burn out the waste and energy would be recovered from the heat generated. Hot gases rise from the burning process and pass through a heat exchanger, which heats up water in a sealed system, which then transfers to a boiler to produce steam. The steam produced is then fed into a turbine to generate electricity or the steam can be used to generate heat. The gases that leave the heat exchanger would enter a treatment system which would clean the gases before emitting the cleaned gases to the atmosphere, via a flue gas fan and stack. The full system is subject to advanced control measures. There are waste outputs from the processes, namely bottom ash (~25%) and air pollution control residues (fly ash) (~3-4%). The bottom ash is the residue from the combustion process. It is an inert waste material which can be reused in the construction industry, mainly replacing aggregates. The fly ash is the residue from the gas treatment system and contains captured pollutants from the cleaning process. This ash would be disposed of safely to a designated hazardous waste landfill. Alternatively, there is a growing market for treatment of this waste which can make it an inert waste which is suitable for reuse in ways similar to the uses for bottom ash. Electricity and Heat Electricity generated would go into the grid and heat would be in the form of hot water which would be piped to the local area creating a district heating network. If the facility was only generating electricity, then it could export 11 MWe to the local electricity network. If all the steam was captured to generate heat, it could be producing up to 20MW thermal energy for export to a district heating system (approximately 10,000 households). A combination of the two is a likely scenario with increased heat generation as the district heating system develops. The district heating system would be phased, focusing on key heat demand users within the local area as a first phase to establish the network. Initially this is likely to include public properties and council owned residential properties. A Heat and Power Plan has been submitted. Alternatives A comprehensive site search, focusing on areas within Aberdeen and its periphery, has informed the site selection. This search was driven by key policy criteria set by the Scottish Government along with site availability and technical suitability. East Tullos Industrial Estate scored well against identified policy criteria including environmental constraints, proximity to waste concentration, proximity to potential heat users, and site availability. A Site Selection Report has been submitted. A review of available technologies concluded that a solution such as energy from waste, developed as a high quality Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP), meets with Scottish Government aspirations. Planning Policy Context March 2016 Doc Ref. 37482/D040/rr009i1 III © Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited Aberdeen City Local Development Plan (2012) confirms that sites are required for energy recovery facilities, and other new waste management facilities, in order to meet the requirements of the Aberdeen Waste Strategy 2014-2025. It identifies the site as located within the industrial land allocation covering East Tullos Industrial Estate. Waste uses are supported within such land allocations within Scottish Planning Policy (2014). The forthcoming plan, the Proposed Aberdeen Local Development Plan (2015), identifies the site as suitable for waste related uses under Policy R4: Site for New Waste Management Facilities including “an energy from waste facility or in-vessel composting plant.” Environmental Impact Assessment: Summary of Findings Land Quality/Geology The site is brownfield, with a history of commercial use since 1959 according to historical mapping. Previous ground investigations have confirmed that there is the potential for localised contamination to be present in soil and groundwater has been identified. Further investigation and remediation is planned by the current site owner as part of the site demolition work scheduled for 2016. Following implementation of planned remediation works, it is anticipated that there would be a material improvement in the soil and groundwater conditions at the Development Site. The condition of the site following this investigation and remediation work is the predicted future baseline for the Proposed Development and it is likely that any residual risks can be managed and mitigated during construction works. Freshwater The site currently drains to the East Tullos Burn, which rises near to Redmoss Road, around 2km southwest of the Development Site, before flowing through a culvert below the East Tullos Industrial Estate. The culvert currently passes directly beneath the Development Site, but is scheduled for rerouting during 2016 subject to consents. The site does not lie within an area of potential risk from river, coastal or groundwater flooding. There is a risk of flooding in the event that the existing culvert is exceeded. There is also evidence of small isolated areas of surface water flood risk within the site mainly a reflection of existing topography. A Flood Risk Assessment and a Drainage Impact Assessment have been completed and is appended to the ES. A site specific drainage system is proposed as part of the Proposed Development which has been designed, in accordance with Sustainable Urban Drainage Principles and, in liaison with Aberdeen City Council’s Floods and Drainage Team.