Request for information about the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP)

REF: Request for information about the funding of the planned expansion of the Edmonton Eco-Park and the environmental impacts of both the current plant and the planned plant

Thank you for your request of 28 April 2021 regarding the above. All of this request, including your requests for funding and environmental impacts information, is being handled under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 and has been allocated the reference number 2021-119[1].

You requested the following information in relation to the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) on behalf of XX X. I have numbered your questions for ease of responding:

1. -Which organisations are funding the project
2. -How much each organisation is paying
3. -How much the total project is costing
4. -How much will taxpayers have to pay for the project

We would also like to request information regarding the details of the project. We would
like to know:

5. -What other options have been considered for the Edmonton Eco-Park
6. -A cost benefit analysis of all the options considered for the site
7. -The emissions generated from the current incinerator
8. -The estimated carbon emissions generated from the proposed project
9. -The estimated particulate emissions generated from the proposed project
10. -How the NLWA has considered environmental impact with the new project.

North London Waste Authority (NLWA) response:

To provide some context before providing the answers to your questions, NLWA is in the process of replacing the existing energy-from-waste (EfW) plant at the Edmonton EcoPark with a world-class Energy Recovery Facility because the existing facility is coming to the end of its useful life. The existing plant has served north London well for nearly 50 years, but it needs replacing. The replacement ERF will be more thermally efficient than the existing plant, capture heat as well as generating electricity and be more modern in design and control. The replacement ERF forms a key part of the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP). The NLHPP includes the ERF as well as new recycling infrastructure for our residents, namely a new Resource Recovery Facility which will have capacity to manage around 135,000 tonnes of recyclable material every year; a new Reuse and Recycling Centre which will for the first time enable north London residents and businesses to bring material to the EcoPark for recycling; and a Visitor/Education Centre. ‘EcoPark House’ which will be the new home of the Edmonton Sea Cadets and provide local communities and schools with the opportunity to learn more about the circular economy and waste management.
• The Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) will generate low carbon energy from waste, in the form of heat and power. You can find out more about the ERF here.
• The Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) will include an area to process bulky waste and prepare materials for energy recovery, as well as a brand-new Reuse and Recycling Centre for residents to use. You can find out more about the RRF here.
• EcoPark House on the River Lee Navigation will provide a visitor and education centre where residents will be able to learn more about the circular economy and how to reduce the carbon impact of their waste. It will also provide a new modern home for the Edmonton Sea Cadets.

In terms of the costs of the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) about which you have asked:
1. -Which organisations are funding the project
2. -How much each organisation is paying
3. -How much the total project is costing
4. -How much will taxpayers have to pay for the project

Please see a response we provided to an EIR request earlier this year regarding the costs of the project. The response is freely available in our Scheme of Publication, reference EIR request 2021-110 available at:

https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/scheme-of-publications/request-information-about-allocation-costs-north-london-heat

Regarding your request for information about:
5. -What other options have been considered for the Edmonton Eco-Park
6. -A cost benefit analysis of all the options considered for the site

A thoroughly researched Alternatives Assessment was carried out for the NLHPP in advance of the application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the NLHPP. This Assessment, which was accepted by the independent Planning Inspectorate, concluded that the replacement ERF is the most suitable option for managing residual waste at the Edmonton EcoPark. The Assessment is available publicly here:

http://www.northlondonheatandpower.london/media/asvicpm2/ad05-03_alternatives_assessment_lores.pdf

Some additional options work was carried out in 2016. A paper was produced a result, providing a detailed summary of the work undertaken by NLWA in 2016, in parallel with the process for examination of the application for a DCO for the NLHPP. The work was to examine options for the delivery of future residual waste management services and determine whether, as previously assessed and set out in the DCO application, the scheme for which the DCO application had been made, namely a replacement Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) on the Edmonton EcoPark with associated development (the DCO Scheme), was the option for NLWA to progress. This paper entitled ‘North London Heat and Power Project Summary Paper on Options’ is available on the Authority’s website here: https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2020-05/3-dco-update-and-next-steps-web.pdf - please see the Appendix A to the report which contains the paper.

Regarding your request for:
7. -The emissions generated from the current incinerator
Please see our response to EiR request 2020-90 and 2020-88 publicly available respectively at:
https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/scheme-of-publications/freedom-information-request-emissions-data-edmonton-energy

https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/scheme-of-publications/request-information-about-emissions-edmonton-energy-waste

There is also an earlier response to a request for emissions information which may be of interest at:

https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/scheme-of-publications/request-information-emissions-current-and-replacement-plant

Regarding:
8. -The estimated carbon emissions generated from the proposed project
Firstly, please refer to the carbon impact report for the project which was produced by Ramboll in 2019 and which is publicly and freely available on the NLHPP website at: http://northlondonheatandpower.london/media/dgydyjpw/nlwa-carbon-impact-study-report.pdf

The Authority also responded to an EIR request last year on emissions - please see our response to EiR request 2020-90 publicly available at:
https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/ourauthority/scheme-of-publications/freedom-information-request-emissions-data-edmonton-energy

I trust this response answers your questions, but if I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you are dissatisfied with this response and wish to appeal, please reply to this email or submit a complaint via our website complaints page at: https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/enquiry-form
Your request should be submitted to us within 40 working days of receipt by you of this response.
If you are still not satisfied, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113

Yours sincerely,

[1] Given the nature of our activities and the fact that environmental information is interpreted quite broadly we now generally answer information requests under the Environmental Information Regulations rather than the Freedom of Information Act. Further detail is available at: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/environmental_information.aspx