Emerson to Automate Waste-to-Energy Plant That Will Help UK Meet European Renewable Energy Targets

Emerson will provide control systems and project services for a new waste-to-energy power plant near Knaresborough Allerton, North Yorkshire, UK.The plant, which will also incorporate biogas and recycling facilities, will produce 28 megawatt-hours of electricity per hour from 320,000 tons of waste, exporting enough energy to the National Grid to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes and further helping the UK to meet the EU Energy Directive 2020 targets for renewable energy.

The facility will also divert more than seven million metric tons of waste from landfill over its 25-year lifetime, and recover more than one-and-a-half million tons of recyclable materials.The plant will be operated by Amey on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council. Emerson was chosen for the project by VINCI Environment UK, a subsidiary of VINCI Environnement (France), which is designing, building and commissioning the project.

“Allerton Waste Recovery Park is an exciting new facility which will bring together state-of-the-art technologies to make the most of North Yorkshire’s and the city of York’s waste,” said Peter Turba, Project Director – VINCI Environnement (France). “Emerson’s expertise and track record in waste-to-energy automation projects makes it the perfect choice for this plant.”

To minimize project costs and schedule risk, Emerson’s project services team will work with VINCI Environment UK personnel to provide the plant’s automation design, installation, commissioning, start-up, and onsite operator training. Emerson’s Ovation^™ distributed control system, which has been proven in waste-to-energy facilities around the world, will monitor and control the plant’s boiler, flue gas treatment and balance-of-plant processes and equipment.

“We are delighted to provide automation technologies and services that will help this renewable energy project meet its objectives,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson Process Management’s Power & Water Solutions. “Emerson will not only provide advanced control systems to enable safe and efficient operation, but our project services will increase the certainty of the project’s success while helping ensure quality and reliability.”