Financial close for energy from waste (EfW) facility in Walsall

Encyclis, formerly Covanta, has reached a financial close on its energy from waste (EfW) facility in Walsall, West Midlands, UK.

Encyclis will construct, own, and operate the facility, marking the first site entirely owned by the company. Hitachi Zosen Inova will serve as the principal contractor, overseeing the construction under a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract. Using advanced combustion technology, the facility is designed to convert up to 436,000 tonnes of non-recyclable residual waste from the region into 49 MWe of low-carbon baseload electricity annually, sufficient to power approximately 90,000 homes. Originally initiated in partnership with BH EnergyGap with an anticipated operational date of 2026, the facility is now solely owned by Encyclis.

The project involves the redevelopment of a vacant industrial site in Fryers Road, Walsall, and preliminary site preparation work has been carried out by the Wolverhampton-based groundworks specialist McAuliffe. Supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority, the project received an initial loan facility for preparatory groundworks before achieving financial close. The primary fuel supply for the facility will be sourced from various local and regional waste management companies.