The New Technologies Demonstrator Programme is a scheme part of

Defra DEFRA may refer to: * Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law * Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department {{Disambiguation ...

Waste Implementation Programme The Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) is the UK Government's response to the package of strategic measures recommended by the Strategy Unit "Waste Not, Want Not" report published in 2002. The WIP is the route map of the Department for Environmen ...

, New Technologies Workstream, to demonstrate advanced solid waste processing technologies in England. A pot of £30million was allocated to fund 10 demonstrator projects with the project being headed by Dave Brooks at Defra. The scheme is not on schedule for the ambitious targets that were initially set out by Defra, however 9 projects out of the initial 10 are now projected to be operational by April 2009, over 2 years behind schedule.

The scheme

The scheme initially was allocated £32 million, of which £2 million was to help fund research and development into waste technology. The scheme for the distribution of the main £30 million pot commenced in 2004 and was originally split into two rounds: *ROUND 1: 5 demonstrator projects in operation by 31 December 2005 *ROUND 2: 5 demonstrator projects in operation by 31 December 2006 Their project had a huge response for the first round, with 71 pre-qualification questionnaire submissions being filed from interested parties. The quality of some of the initial bids were criticised by Martin Brockelhurst, Head of Waste Strategy, at the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

who remarked some of the applications were poor and came from a "young industry".

Controversy

There have been concerns that the project is taking too long and some participants threatened to walk out. On 11 April 2006, Defra declared that its initial timescales were ambitious and projects were not on target. Of the 10 original projects planned a total of 9 have now been signed and includes

gasification Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (). This is achieved by reacting ...

in-vessel composting In-vessel composting generally describes a group of methods that confine the composting materials within a building, container, or vessel. In-vessel composting systems can consist of metal or plastic tanks or concrete bunkers in which air flow and ...

anaerobic digestion Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste or to produce fuels. Much of the ferm ...

and

mechanical heat treatment Mechanical heat treatment (MHT) is an alternative waste treatment technology. This technology is also commonly termed autoclaving. MHT involves a mechanical sorting or pre-processing stage with technology often found in a material recovery facility ...

. From the original target dates for operational demonstrator plants outlined in the initial assessment criteria only 2 projects are now operational (true as of 27 November 2006). On 24 November 2006, Dave Brooks announced that the new target for all plants being operational is April 2009.

The projects

Operational

#Greenfinch anaerobic digesters,

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

, Shropshire #Bioganix in-vessel composting plant,

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

#Fairport Engineering, mechanical heat treatment,

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

#Energos gasification plant,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

(currently under reconstruction until 2018)

Contracts signed

#ADAS/Envar in-vessel composing plant,

St Ives, Cambridgeshire St Ives is a market town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England, east of Huntingdon and north-west of Cambridge. St Ives is historically in the historic county of Huntingdonshire. History The township ...

#Premier Waste aerobic digestion plant,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

Abandoned or Cancelled

#Novera gasification plant,

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

Novera withdrew from the DEFRA scheme in 2007. #Compact Power gasification plant,

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

#Yorwaste gasification plant,

Seamer Carr Seamer may refer to: Places * Seamer, Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England * Seamer, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England ** Seamer railway station People * Arthur John Seamer (1878–1963), New Zealand religious minister * Jake Seamer (191 ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

References

{{waste Bioenergy in the United Kingdom Waste treatment technology Waste management in the United Kingdom