Cory Riverside Energy


Cory Riverside Energy has operated a waste disposal since 2011 in the London Borough of Bexley. It collects rubbish by barge at riverside wharves and burns it at a waste-to-energy incinerator in Belvedere, London.

Location

The plant is close to the site of the former oil-fired Belvedere Power Station, which was decommissioned in the 1980s; this is now the Isis Reach industrial park. A plant processing twice the waste capacity was initially proposed by Cory Environmental and underwent significant planning delays.

History

Bexley Council, along with Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, attempted to block the plans by forcing a judicial review of the development. On 4 January 2007 the judge dismissed the challenge and the incinerator was given the go-ahead to build within the next three years. Bexley Council and Ken Livingstone again challenged the construction of the incinerator on the basis that it was energy inefficient as it did not use the waste heat from the incineration process.
The facility was given permission by the Department of Trade and Industry for construction to begin in June 2006, in spite of widespread local opposition. In February 2007, Bexley Council and the Mayor of London yet again pursued the prevention of the construction of the Riverside Resource Recovery ERF in High Court of Justice in London. Shares in Costain dropped in November 2010 when AE&E delayed £22 million in payments due for building the facility.
The plant started up in 2011 and was formally opened in 2012. In 2018 the company was bought by a consortium which included Dalmore Capital and Semperian for £1.5 billion.
In 2019 there was a public inquiry into a proposed second incinerator at the plant. Corey was reportedly working with Bexley council on proposals for a waste heat for homes system.

Operations

The facility handles waste from the Western Riverside Waste Authority and other local authorities with a capacity of 575,000 tonnes waste per annum. Waste is transported to the plant by river barge from Wandsworth, Battersea, Walbrook Wharf and Northumberland Wharf along the River Thames. The plant can process 585,000 tonnes of waste per year and produces up to 60 MW of electricity for the National Grid. Flue gas is cleaned by injection of ammonia to reduce nitrogen oxides, calcium hydroxide to neutralise acids, activated carbon to adsorb heavy metals, dioxins and furans, and fabric filters to catch particulates.