Electricity grid connection secured for £240m arc21 incinerator project in Newtownabbey

An artist's impression of the proposed project.

The £240m project earmarked for the Boghill Road is designed to deal with waste from a significant portion of the population and includes Mechanical and Biological Treatment, Energy from Waste Thermal Treatment and Incinerator Bottom Ash Treatment facilities, plus a Refuse Derived Fuel Bale Storage building and an administration/visitor centre.

Detailing the new development, a spokesperson for the Becon Consortium said: “This grid connection offer, accepted by the Becon Consortium who is bidding to build the facilities for the six local councils in the arc21 area, is an important element of the overall project and will facilitate supply of electricity to the national grid, enough to power up to 30,000 homes.

“The grid connection for the planned installation will facilitate an export capacity of 18.1MW. It is estimated that this will contribute over 50,000 MWh per year towards renewable energy targets while enhancing Northern Ireland’s security of supply and increasing the diversity of energy production in pursuit of climate change and net zero carbon targets.

“The proposed EfW generator is a continuous, base load generator using predominantly non-fossil fuel and will align with the relevant government policy framework on climate change, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and de-carbonisation of the economy.”

Elected representatives from across the political spectrum and residents in the No-ARC21 group have voiced their opposition to the project since it was first mooted.

The Department for Infrastructure announced in September 2017 full planning permission had been granted for the facility at the Hightown Quarry site.

However, in 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled Stormont officials did not have the legal authority to grant permission for the facility.

In 2019 revised documents were submitted to the Department by arc21.

Speaking in April 2019 after further environmental information was submitted, an arc21 spokesperson said: “arc21 has updated certain environmental surveys so any future decision is based on the latest information available and to respond to feedback from the planning process to date.”

Commenting on this week’s announcement, John Ahern, Becon Consortium, said: “We are delighted to have accepted this connection offer as it represents another significant step in realising the value of this important infrastructure project for the arc21 council area and Northern Ireland as a whole.

“The need for our society to meet environmental and climate change targets has never been greater. As we pursue net zero-carbon targets by 2050 and the transition to a circular economy, Northern Ireland must play its part. This includes following the lead of other European countries to develop new waste infrastructure which diverts waste from landfill, increases recycling and maximises the value from our non-recyclable waste.

“The Becon Consortium has developed plans to build the necessary integrated infrastructure to meet the arc21 councils’ specific requirements in a way that will help meet statutory targets for landfill diversion, recycling and renewable energy for many years to come.

“The electricity connection specifically will contribute over 50,000 MWh per year towards Northern Ireland’s renewable energy targets. This in turn will reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels and enhance our security of supply.”

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