A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by Peel Environment and Powerhouse Energy Group in order to progress ambitious plans for a new energy from waste plant that will be built and managed by the partnership.

The new plant is being planned for Ellesmere Port and will be progressed under a collaboration arrangement until next May. The signed MOU defines the basis of the new working relationship and anticipates that the new EfW plant will be built at the Protos site as part of a commercial enterprise which will include five EfW plants in total.

However, at this stage there is no certainty that the MOU will progress to a clear agreement to proceed. Instead, it allows for the test collaboration period.

The signs look promising, however. Peel Environmental is already a leader of waste solutions in the UK and has a number of waste management sites located across the country. It has a highly skilled workforce and a team that will be working closely with PowerHouse in order to plan for the growing Protos facility and energy park.

The MD of Peel Environmental, Myles Kitcher, said that the firm was extremely keen to work with Powerhouse and evolve the growing green energy park at Protos. The Protos scheme is located on the previous Ince Park site.

As part of the project's development and planning, the local community will need to be engaged to encourage buy-in and support for the new scheme. Energy from waste incineration schemes can be controversial, and Peel will no doubt deliver community engagement and awareness schemes to help broker a conversation between the developer and local residents. They will explain the benefits that the technology can bring, alongside the economic benefits of additional jobs and supply-chain opportunities.