New Earth Solutions Group has been granted planning permission to develop its energy recovery capability at the company’s Canford waste facility near Poole in Dorset, U.K.

The company, which already operates a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility on the site, plans to build a 10-megawatt (MW) energy recovery facility (ERF), enough to meet the needs of nearly 20,000 homes in the area. The renewable energy plant will be powered by refuse-derived fuel (RDF) created from residual waste that is unable to be recycled.

The company says the Canford ERF will use its patented New Earth Advanced Thermal (NEAT) technology, which is the basis of the company’s Avonmouth ERF located near Bristol, U.K., which began exporting power to the grid in May 2013.

“By producing RDF from the waste which can’t be recycled, we have successfully diverted more away from landfill,” says Darren Stockley, New Earth’s managing director. “Now we need to make sure we are making the most of that RDF and have sufficient energy recovery capacity for its use within the U.K.”

He continues, “By closing this loop, New Earth is increasing the environmental value that can be recovered from all the waste it treats. Following the successful commissioning of our 13-MW ERF in Avonmouth, we can now begin to roll the NEAT technology out to other facilities around the UK." 

New Earth expects to begin construction of the ERF at Canford in 2014 enabling operations to begin in 2015.