Sustainability Ambitions
WERL is keen to improve the environmental credentials of the design, construction, and operation of the Westfield ERF. To that end, Brockwell Energy Services are actively engaged in discussing potential opportunities to reduce the carbon emissions generated during construction (material choices, etc) and exploring opportunities for carbon capture, heat networks and potential hydrogen generation.
CONSTRUCTION CHOICES
Brockwell Energy Services holds regular meetings with the EPC Contractor (HZI) to identify and explore opportunities for innovative ways of lowering the embodied carbon in the Westfield ERF, including concepts such as low carbon concrete, green steel, structural designs suitable for the installation of solar PV panels on the roof and south-facing walls, heating and cooling the administration building from the process itself rather than through electrical energy, monitoring scope three carbon emissions, and facilitating some of the larger-scale sustainability ambitions such as heat networks, carbon capture, and hydrogen generation.
HEAT NETWORKS
WERL is keen to attract a heat off-taker to the wider Westfield site and provide them with hot water (or suitable grades of steam). Doing so makes even better use of the energy contained in the waste being treated in the Westfield ERF and can enhance the sustainability of both the ERF and the off-taker’s business.
To that end, Brockwell Energy Services is working closely together with the landlord (Hargreaves), and Fife Council to introduce and develop opportunities with potentially interested parties. The Westfield ERF can provide a reliable and consistent form of heat to buildings or industrial processes within the wider Westfield site or the surrounding local area. With recent examples of substantial volatility and high prices within the UK (and global) energy markets, the Westfield ERF can offer an economical proposal, either with a suitable discount to market prices or on an inflation-linked fixed price per megawatt-hour basis. The sustainability advantage of contracting with WERL for heat offtake could be further improved if WERL’s ambitions for the integration of carbon capture come to fruition.
Learn more about the heat offtake opportunity here.
CARBON CAPTURE
Approximately fifty percent of waste treated by the Westfield ERF will be from biogenic (i.e. renewable) sources that, as part of their production, remove carbon from the atmosphere (e.g. residual paper, card, wood, food, etc). By adding a carbon capture solution to the Westfield ERF we have the opportunity to create a ‘carbon negative’ asset: i.e. one that not only does not contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, but actively removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Being able to do this at the same time as providing crucial social infrastructure and generating energy places energy from waste in a uniquely important position in the sustainability transition.
To this end, WERL has instructed Brockwell Energy Services to undertake a feasibility assessment and initial engineering design for the integration of carbon capture with the ambition of connecting into the ‘Scottish Cluster’ for carbon capture, which we believe will go ahead at some point.
HYDROGEN
BEL has commenced discussions and technical modelling for a hydrogen synergy with Cireco (the main fuel supplier) in the global drive towards a circular economy, resource efficiency, and climate change action. The concept is to locate an electrolyser (and associated hydrogen storage and vehicle fuelling pumps) on the Westfield ERF site, powered by the electricity produced by the combustion of waste in the ERF with the hydrogen used to fuel waste delivery (and other) vehicles. That is, the transportation of waste is powered by the waste being carried, with zero harmful emissions on the road.
POLICIES and statements
How we work is important to WERL, and the policies and statements below set out several of our commitments to a positive approach.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTs
All large-scale infrastructure projects have the potential to result in a myriad of positive and detrimental impacts. WERL is committed to enhancing the positive impacts of the Westfield ERF and avoiding, minimising, and/or mitigating any potential downsides. Some of the positive impacts of the project include construction and operational phase job opportunities. Similarly, there will be opportunities for local suppliers of various services and products to tender to supply to the project throughout its lifetime. HZI, as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Contractor and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Contractor are the most suitable point of contact. More details on HZI’s systems in these regards can be found here.
The project development environment in Scotland places a rigorous emphasis on public and statutory consultation and we would not have reached the stringent standards applied by Fife Council as part of the planning system or SEPA as part of various permits that are required to build and operate the Westfield ERF. WERL takes these permissions and their conditions very seriously and as part of Brockwell Energy Services’ management of the project, regular reviews of conditions and other requirements are undertaken to ensure the Project is upholding the highest standards of compliance.
Alongside and in addition to the requirements set out by Fife Council and SEPA, WERL is committed to complying with the ‘Equator Principles’ as required by the banks providing debt to the project. A key part of such compliance is an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) which which takes a well-rounded approach to assessing and managing the impacts of projects across twenty five aspects (including but not limited to: community health, safety, and security; Impacts on affected communities and disadvantaged or vulnerable groups; socio-economic impacts; climate risks; and human rights). Following this ESIA conclusion, Brockwell Energy developed an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and embedded this within WERL’s contracts with HZI. Brockwell Energy Services will be managing and monitoring against this in accordance with its internal Environmental and Social Management System.