Qair takes majority stake in big UK waste-to-energy project

European independent renewable energy conglomerate Qair has acquired a 90% stake in Northacre Renewable Energy Limited (NREL) from Evero Energy Group Limited and has also finalised the transaction.

NREL is a special purpose joint venture, established to deliver the Northacre Energy-from-Waste facility in Westbury. The facility will utilise Moving Grate Technology and was granted an Operational Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency in June 2022.

Qair intends to provide an outlet for 243,000t/y non-recyclable residual fraction of the waste by completing the development of the NREL EfW project which will simultaneously supply up to 24 megawatts (MW) of sustainable base load electricity in the near future.

With a 10% share of NREL, The Hills Group, through its core activity focused on waste management in the region, will play a key role in supplying waste to the facility.

Qair targets financial close for NRE in 2025 and expects the plant to produce its first megawatt-hours in 2028. The Group is already engaged in serious discussions with a major EPC contractor.

A continued expansion in the UK

Following the purchase of the Centre for Horsham Energy Recovery (CHER) project in Horsham in September 2022, this transaction marks Qair’s second acquisition of an Energy from Waste (EfW) project in the UK.

This acquisition confirms Qair’s ambition to expand further in the United Kingdom, building on its presence there since 2019. The Group now holds a UK portfolio of onshore wind and PV projects at various stages of development totalling 400 MW in capacity, with an additional 2 GW of offshore projects awarded in the ScotWind leasing round.

Louis Blanchard, CEO of Qair, said, “We are pleased to partner with Hills and recognize a significant opportunity to enhance our base load power capacity. Qair looks forward to working closely with Hills and to start building this new asset, which will bring value to the Wiltshire area and create synergies with our CHER project in Horsham. ”