Teesside WTE Power Station
Encyclopedia
Teesside Energy from Waste plant (also known as Teesside WTE power station or Haverton Hill incinerator) is a municipal waste
incinerator and waste-to-energy
power station
, which provides 29.2 megawatts (MW) of electricity for the National Grid by burning 390,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste a year. It is located on the River Tees
at Haverton Hill
, east of Billingham
in North East England
. Operated by SITA UK
since its conception, the plant replaced the Portrack Incinerator
and opened in 1998.
The station is one of the most modern incinerators operating in England; it is noted for its innovative operation. In 2009, an extension was completed at the station, with the construction of an extra furnace line and a rail head. This increased the capacities of the plant from 19.2 MW and 250,000 tonnes of waste per year to its current levels. The plant initially burned only waste from Teesside, but this was extended to include Northumberland
with the 2009 extension. A second plant, the North East Energy Recovery Centre (NEERC), has planning permission to be built on land adjacent to the current plant. If built, this will extend the plant's catchment to include waste from south Tyne and Wear
.
Between 1975 and 1996, the Portrack Incinerator
on the River Tees burned 200,000 tonnes of Teesside's waste every year, generating 20 megawatts of electricity in doing so. In November 1996, the plant was closed down after it failed to meet emission regulations; it was then demolished in stages between 1998 and 2000. Following the closure of the Portrack plant, a new facility to burn Teesside's refuse was constructed. Teesside Energy from Waste plant was opened in May 1998 as a collaboration between SITA UK
(the station's operator) and the local authorities of Stockton-on-Tees
, Middlesbrough
, Hartlepool
and Redcar & Cleveland.
contract worth £70 million with Northumberland County Council
, to provide them with waste management services and to reduce the county's reliance upon landfill. This included the construction of an extra incineration line at the Teesside plant. Civil construction of the extension began in April 2007, with heavy erection beginning that November. Von Roll
was the general contractor for the entire extension. In May 2009, the third line, which cost £70 million to build, was brought into operation. It was officially opened on 8 October 2009 by former MP Hilary Armstrong
, SITA UK Chief Executive David Palmer-Jones, and Northumberland County Councillor Jeff Reid. At various times, between 60 and 100 people were employed in building the third line, and an additional 20 full time jobs were created for its operation once open. Built on time and within budget, the extension surpassed expectations in its first year of operation. A year after the opening of the third line, only a fifth of the amount of waste that was being sent to landfill in Northumberland prior to its opening was still being sent there.
building. The metal is finished in the colour 'Goosewing Grey', accented in 'Solent Blue' and 'Petra Red'. The plant's clean, clear lines and colours are said to "contrast favourably" with the nearby industrial buildings.
Until 2009, the station had two operating furnace lines, which together were capable of burning a total of 250,000 tonnes of waste per year, and generated 20 MW of electricity. However in May 2009 a third line was brought into operation. The plant currently burns 360,000 tonnes of waste a year and generates 29.2 MW of electricity. This is enough electricity to power 60,000 homes.
The original plant uses Babcock and Wilcox Volund
boilers to provide steam for a single Ansaldo
turbo generator rated at 19.2 MW. The third line uses a Von Roll
Inova reciprocating grate to burn the waste, and generates electricity using a single Von Roll Inova three-pass steam generator, rated at 10 MW.
, Hartlepool
, Middlesbrough
, Redcar & Cleveland, North Tyneside
and Northumberland
. When there is a shortfall in household waste, non-hazardous industrial and commercial waste are used to make up capacity. The station burns only residual waste, which is material left over after recycling. The incinerator operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Waste is delivered to the station by road, using up to 100 waste collection vehicles. Up to 2,800 tonnes of waste a week or as much as 1,000 tonnes of waste a day, can be delivered at the plant. A rail head was also built on the railway sidings adjacent to the site in 2009. This allows for waste to be delivered to the plant by rail
, rather than just by road. This is more sustainable as it reduces the amount of traffic on local roads.
Waste arriving at the plant is checked in and weighed, before being delivered to the plant's reception hall. The large reception hall allows the vehicles to dump their waste safely. Air for the combustion of the waste later in the plant is drawn from the reception hall so that odour and dust doesn't pollute the building's surroundings. From the hall waste is tipped into a large concrete bunker. Here the feedstock is homogenefied by a crane operator, who mixes and removes unsuitable waste. A grab crane then manoeuvers waste from the bunker to the hopper
s that feed the furnace. This crane is operated from a control room
. This room also monitors the equipment in the plant, the combustion gases and maximises the efficiency of the plant.
From the hoppers, the waste falls onto the furnace-charging chute and from there onto the incinerating grate. Here it is burned at a temperature in excess of 1,200 °C. This heat is then converted into super heated steam through the plant's boilers. This in turn powers steam turbines, much in the same way as a conventional thermal power station
. Electricity is generated at 11 kilovolts. After exiting the turbines, the steam is condensed back to water. For the original two incinerating lines use river water from the Tees
as a cooling medium, whereas in the third line, water is condensed through air cooled condenser. The cooled water is treated and reused in the boilers.
Gases from the furnace are cleaned using selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), spray absorbers
and active carbon injection. These processes remove nitrogen oxides, acidic gasses, dioxins and heavy metals from the plants emissions. The remaining gases are passed through fine-fabric bag filters to remove and solid particles, before it is released from the chimney
. Each incineration line has its own independent stack in the chimney, and the flue gases are continuously monitored before being released. This information is relayed to the control room. The remaining fly ash
from the filters contains particles from the incineration, lime from the spray absorbers, salt and carbon dust, and so is stored in a sealed silo until it is taken from the site for disposal. Incinerator bottom ash
left on the incineration grate after the burning is moved by converyor to a bunker. Whilst on the conveyor, a magnet removes ferrous metal from the ash for recycling. The remaining ash is then used as an aggregate in the construction industry.
A recycling centre
operates next to the plant, which opened in December 2001. In 2006 a composting facility was opened.
NEERC is expected to be capable of handling up to 190,000 tonnes of waste per year. This waste will be burned to generate electricity for the National Grid and cogenerate
to provide heat for local industries in the form of steam. NEERC will have two processing lines, capable of generating 21 MW of electricity, enough to provide for 37,500 homes. This means that over the two facilities, 640,000 tonnes of waste will be burned annually, and over 50 MW of electricity generated. This would make Teesside the largest operational EfW centre in the UK outside of London. The plant will be a mirror image of the current one, and will create 160 jobs; 25 in South Tyne and Wear, 100 in the construction of the plant, and the rest once the plant is operational.
In August 2010, SITA teamed up with Sembcorp UK to build another waste-to-energy facility in the Teesside region. Wilton 11 on the Wilton International complex is to burn a further 400,000 tonnes of waste in the region whilst generating 35 MW of electricity. The plant is expected to be operational by 2015.
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
incinerator and waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy or energy-from-waste is the process of creating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the incineration of waste source. WtE is a form of energy recovery...
power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, which provides 29.2 megawatts (MW) of electricity for the National Grid by burning 390,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste a year. It is located on the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
at Haverton Hill
Haverton Hill
Haverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England.It is situated to the north of the River Tees, near Billingham. The A1046 is the main road linking to Stockton and the A19 in the west and Port Clarence and the A178 in the east.- History...
, east of Billingham
Billingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. Operated by SITA UK
Sita (waste management)
SITA is the main brand representing Suez Environnement's waste subsidiaries in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific zone and Australia....
since its conception, the plant replaced the Portrack Incinerator
Portrack Incinerator
The Portrack Incinerator was a municipal waste incinerator and waste-to-energy power station situated on the River Tees at Portrack in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England.- History :...
and opened in 1998.
The station is one of the most modern incinerators operating in England; it is noted for its innovative operation. In 2009, an extension was completed at the station, with the construction of an extra furnace line and a rail head. This increased the capacities of the plant from 19.2 MW and 250,000 tonnes of waste per year to its current levels. The plant initially burned only waste from Teesside, but this was extended to include Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
with the 2009 extension. A second plant, the North East Energy Recovery Centre (NEERC), has planning permission to be built on land adjacent to the current plant. If built, this will extend the plant's catchment to include waste from south Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
.
Replacement for Portrack
- See also Portrack IncineratorPortrack IncineratorThe Portrack Incinerator was a municipal waste incinerator and waste-to-energy power station situated on the River Tees at Portrack in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England.- History :...
Between 1975 and 1996, the Portrack Incinerator
Portrack Incinerator
The Portrack Incinerator was a municipal waste incinerator and waste-to-energy power station situated on the River Tees at Portrack in Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England.- History :...
on the River Tees burned 200,000 tonnes of Teesside's waste every year, generating 20 megawatts of electricity in doing so. In November 1996, the plant was closed down after it failed to meet emission regulations; it was then demolished in stages between 1998 and 2000. Following the closure of the Portrack plant, a new facility to burn Teesside's refuse was constructed. Teesside Energy from Waste plant was opened in May 1998 as a collaboration between SITA UK
Sita (waste management)
SITA is the main brand representing Suez Environnement's waste subsidiaries in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific zone and Australia....
(the station's operator) and the local authorities of Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
and Redcar & Cleveland.
Third incineration line
In December 2006, SITA UK signed a 28-year private finance initiativePrivate Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
contract worth £70 million with Northumberland County Council
Northumberland County Council
Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. It was originally formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of Northumberland and reformed in 1974 to cover a the newly formed non-metropolitan county of Northumberland...
, to provide them with waste management services and to reduce the county's reliance upon landfill. This included the construction of an extra incineration line at the Teesside plant. Civil construction of the extension began in April 2007, with heavy erection beginning that November. Von Roll
Von Roll Holding AG
Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide, specializing in energy production.- History :Von Roll has its roots in the Eisenwerke der Handelsgesellschaft der Gebrüder Dürholz & Co. which was established in 1803...
was the general contractor for the entire extension. In May 2009, the third line, which cost £70 million to build, was brought into operation. It was officially opened on 8 October 2009 by former MP Hilary Armstrong
Hilary Armstrong
Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for North West Durham from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
, SITA UK Chief Executive David Palmer-Jones, and Northumberland County Councillor Jeff Reid. At various times, between 60 and 100 people were employed in building the third line, and an additional 20 full time jobs were created for its operation once open. Built on time and within budget, the extension surpassed expectations in its first year of operation. A year after the opening of the third line, only a fifth of the amount of waste that was being sent to landfill in Northumberland prior to its opening was still being sent there.
Design and specification
The plant is a large metal-cladCladding (construction)
Cladding is the application of one material over another to provide a skin or layer intended to control the infiltration of weather elements, or for aesthetic purposes....
building. The metal is finished in the colour 'Goosewing Grey', accented in 'Solent Blue' and 'Petra Red'. The plant's clean, clear lines and colours are said to "contrast favourably" with the nearby industrial buildings.
Until 2009, the station had two operating furnace lines, which together were capable of burning a total of 250,000 tonnes of waste per year, and generated 20 MW of electricity. However in May 2009 a third line was brought into operation. The plant currently burns 360,000 tonnes of waste a year and generates 29.2 MW of electricity. This is enough electricity to power 60,000 homes.
The original plant uses Babcock and Wilcox Volund
Babcock and Wilcox
The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a U.S.-based company that provides design, engineering, manufacturing, construction and facilities management services to nuclear, renewable, fossil power, industrial and government customers worldwide. B&W's boilers supply more than 300,000 megawatts of installed...
boilers to provide steam for a single Ansaldo
Ansaldo Energia
Ansaldo Energia, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa.-History:The parent company, Ansaldo, started in 1853. It was taken over by Finmeccanica in 1993...
turbo generator rated at 19.2 MW. The third line uses a Von Roll
Von Roll Holding AG
Von Roll Holding AG is a Swiss industrial group that operates worldwide, specializing in energy production.- History :Von Roll has its roots in the Eisenwerke der Handelsgesellschaft der Gebrüder Dürholz & Co. which was established in 1803...
Inova reciprocating grate to burn the waste, and generates electricity using a single Von Roll Inova three-pass steam generator, rated at 10 MW.
Operations
The station operates constantly, burning municipal household waste from the local councils of Stockton-on-TeesStockton-on-Tees (borough)
Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority area and borough in the Tees Valley area of north east England, with a population in 2001 of 178,408, rising to 185,880 in 2005 estimates....
, Hartlepool
Hartlepool (borough)
Hartlepool is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of County Durham, north east England. In 2003 it had a resident population of 90,161. It borders the non-metropolitan county of County Durham to the north, Stockton-on-Tees to the south and Redcar and Cleveland to the south-east along the...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, Redcar & Cleveland, North Tyneside
North Tyneside
The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England and is part of the Tyneside conurbation. Its seat is Wallsend Town Hall....
and Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. When there is a shortfall in household waste, non-hazardous industrial and commercial waste are used to make up capacity. The station burns only residual waste, which is material left over after recycling. The incinerator operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Waste is delivered to the station by road, using up to 100 waste collection vehicles. Up to 2,800 tonnes of waste a week or as much as 1,000 tonnes of waste a day, can be delivered at the plant. A rail head was also built on the railway sidings adjacent to the site in 2009. This allows for waste to be delivered to the plant by rail
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
, rather than just by road. This is more sustainable as it reduces the amount of traffic on local roads.
Waste arriving at the plant is checked in and weighed, before being delivered to the plant's reception hall. The large reception hall allows the vehicles to dump their waste safely. Air for the combustion of the waste later in the plant is drawn from the reception hall so that odour and dust doesn't pollute the building's surroundings. From the hall waste is tipped into a large concrete bunker. Here the feedstock is homogenefied by a crane operator, who mixes and removes unsuitable waste. A grab crane then manoeuvers waste from the bunker to the hopper
Hopper
Hopper may refer to:-Mechanical parts:* A general term for a chute with additional width and depth for temporary storage* Hopper , a large container used for dust collection* Part of a combine harvester...
s that feed the furnace. This crane is operated from a control room
Control room
A control room is a room serving as an operations centre where a facility or service can be monitored and controlled. Examples include:*in television production, the master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations, television networks...
. This room also monitors the equipment in the plant, the combustion gases and maximises the efficiency of the plant.
From the hoppers, the waste falls onto the furnace-charging chute and from there onto the incinerating grate. Here it is burned at a temperature in excess of 1,200 °C. This heat is then converted into super heated steam through the plant's boilers. This in turn powers steam turbines, much in the same way as a conventional thermal power station
Thermal power station
A thermal power station is a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven. Water is heated, turns into steam and spins a steam turbine which drives an electrical generator. After it passes through the turbine, the steam is condensed in a condenser and recycled to where it was heated; this...
. Electricity is generated at 11 kilovolts. After exiting the turbines, the steam is condensed back to water. For the original two incinerating lines use river water from the Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
as a cooling medium, whereas in the third line, water is condensed through air cooled condenser. The cooled water is treated and reused in the boilers.
Gases from the furnace are cleaned using selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), spray absorbers
Scrubber
Scrubber systems are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. Traditionally, the term "scrubber" has referred to pollution control devices that use liquid to wash unwanted pollutants from a gas stream...
and active carbon injection. These processes remove nitrogen oxides, acidic gasses, dioxins and heavy metals from the plants emissions. The remaining gases are passed through fine-fabric bag filters to remove and solid particles, before it is released from the chimney
Flue gas stack
A flue-gas stack is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. Flue gases are produced when coal, oil, natural gas, wood or any other fuel is combusted in an industrial furnace, a power...
. Each incineration line has its own independent stack in the chimney, and the flue gases are continuously monitored before being released. This information is relayed to the control room. The remaining fly ash
Fly ash
Fly ash is one of the residues generated in combustion, and comprises the fine particles that rise with the flue gases. Ash which does not rise is termed bottom ash. In an industrial context, fly ash usually refers to ash produced during combustion of coal...
from the filters contains particles from the incineration, lime from the spray absorbers, salt and carbon dust, and so is stored in a sealed silo until it is taken from the site for disposal. Incinerator bottom ash
Incinerator bottom ash
Incinerator bottom ash is a form of ash produced in incineration facilities. This material is discharged from the moving grate of municipal solid waste incinerators. Following combustion the ash typically has a small amount of ferrous metals contained within it. This ash can be processed to...
left on the incineration grate after the burning is moved by converyor to a bunker. Whilst on the conveyor, a magnet removes ferrous metal from the ash for recycling. The remaining ash is then used as an aggregate in the construction industry.
A recycling centre
Civic amenity site
A civic amenity site or household waste recycling centre is a facility where the public can dispose of household waste and also often containing recycling points. Civic amenity sites are run by the local authority in a given area. Collection points for recyclable waste such as green waste,...
operates next to the plant, which opened in December 2001. In 2006 a composting facility was opened.
Environmental impact
Waste to energy plants are strictly monitored, and the plant has achieved various ISO external certificates. The plant is seen to be at the forefront of sustainable energy production and waste disposal. The plant not only reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill, but displaces the burning of depleting fossil fuels, and makes significant contributions to meeting the North East region's waste recovery and recycling targets.The future: North East Energy Recovery Centre
In 2008, it was announced SITA had plans to build another EfW plant adjacent to the current one, named the North East Energy Recovery Centre (NEERC). SITA UK began consulting key partners, stakeholders and local residents on these plans in April 2008, before submitting a formal planning application that summer. Permission for the plant's construction was granted on 15 October 2008. On 17 September 2010, it was announced that SITA had signed a contract with the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership for their waste to be burned at NEERC once the plant was completed. Construction is expected to begin in early 2011, in time for a 2013 completion date.NEERC is expected to be capable of handling up to 190,000 tonnes of waste per year. This waste will be burned to generate electricity for the National Grid and cogenerate
Cogeneration
Cogeneration is the use of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both electricity and useful heat....
to provide heat for local industries in the form of steam. NEERC will have two processing lines, capable of generating 21 MW of electricity, enough to provide for 37,500 homes. This means that over the two facilities, 640,000 tonnes of waste will be burned annually, and over 50 MW of electricity generated. This would make Teesside the largest operational EfW centre in the UK outside of London. The plant will be a mirror image of the current one, and will create 160 jobs; 25 in South Tyne and Wear, 100 in the construction of the plant, and the rest once the plant is operational.
In August 2010, SITA teamed up with Sembcorp UK to build another waste-to-energy facility in the Teesside region. Wilton 11 on the Wilton International complex is to burn a further 400,000 tonnes of waste in the region whilst generating 35 MW of electricity. The plant is expected to be operational by 2015.