Energy from Waste Plant

1240/5(7964)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY G.C.L. BAUDAINS OF ST. CLEMENT

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 19th NOVEMBER 2013

Question

With regard to the Energy From Waste Plant, would the Minister advise –

1. how many tons of waste are currently stockpiled, and why;
2. the longest period the Plant has run continuously without breakdown at full load;
3. how many faults the Plant currently has;
4. why, given the States were persuaded to buy a Plant with excess capacity in order to cover issues such as an increase in waste arising and breakdowns, it has not been possible to cope with our present amount of waste notwithstanding those breakdowns;
5. whether the crane is automatically operated, how often it has broken down, and why;
6. why 95% of the contract price has been paid before the Plant has proven to be reliable;
7. whether he is prepared to accept the Plant from the contractor in its present condition and, if so, whether he will resign should it continue to suffer the unreliability problems that have occurred;
8. how much the Department has spent (including expenses and man-hours) discussing the possibility of burning Guernsey's waste and whether it is still considering the possibility and, if so, what contingency exists for stockpiling Guernsey's waste during periods of Plant breakdown?

Answer

1. There is approximately 6000 tonnes of waste stockpiled awaiting processing. Part of this stockpile is old waste that is being slowly fed back into the plant when required and some of this waste is excess waste accumulated due to maintenance shutdowns and defect repair shutdowns. This waste must be blended with the fresh putrescible waste in the bunker at a controlled rate to ensure that it can be processed within the plants operating parameters.
2. The plant has run on full load on many occasions and the reason for reducing load or dropping down to one stream is normally due to bunker management not to plant reliability. At full load the waste processed is more than the waste delivered thus the bunker level falls quite rapidly. When the bunker levels decrease the load is reduced to match the waste input to the waste delivery rates.
3. There are 51 defects that remain on the defect register and are being attended toby the contractor. Not all of these defects have been in existence since the plant takeover as there was a two year period following takeover where defects could still be identified and passed back to the contractor for remedy.
4. It is important to properly manage the throughput and type of waste that is processed in the plant. Non putrescible waste is stockpiled from time to time to make space in the bunker for the build-up of putrescible waste due to shutdowns or plant maintenance. This waste is then metered back and mixed with the putrescible waste. This is to ensure that the non-putrescible wastes, containing higher levels of chemical contamination, are not fed into the plant too quickly as doing this would unduly strain the abatement control equipment.

5. The crane can and does, operate in fully automatic, semi-automatic or fully manual modes. The mode of operation is chosen depending on the quantity of deliveries and the level of the bunker. The crane has had minor breakdowns and these have been mainly due to the failure of control position sensing devices. There are two cranes which enables the plant to continue running whilst one crane is out of service for maintenance or repair. The most significant problem with the cranes was due to cabling and cable installation. This cabling has been re- routed and replaced by the contractor at the contractors cost.
6. Payments are specified in the contract and are made against defined tasks known as milestones. The milestones are certified by an appointed independent expert to ensure that the relevant contractual criteria have been met. This is a standard practice for this scale of contract and ensures that the value of the works delivered to the client is proportional to the sums of money paid. This method also ensures that the contractor is not placed under undue financial strain which could be a risk to both contractor and client.

The remaining money will be paid when the requisite certificates and approvals have been issued by the independent Project Manager.

7. As has been  explained in several  previous answers, the Energy  from Waste  plant  was achieved takeover and was accepted by the States of Jersey on the 29thJuly 2011. There are still robust warrantees and guarantees in place against plant equipment and the contractors are still fulfilling their commitment to resolve defects. The Minister has no intention of tendering his resignation on the basis of the Deputy 's interpretation of reliability.
8. The matter of what is happening with Guernsey waste presently rests with Guernsey. Jersey has advised that it is technically possible to utilise some excess plant capacity for a period of time. However, in order for Waste to be imported the principle of waste importation would have to be approved by the States of Jersey and the regulatory requirements for waste importation would have to be satisfied.

With regard to the stockpiling of Guernsey's waste during periods of breakdown there is no intention to offer an open ended commitment to this.

Excluding senior officer time, the department has spent £710 on expenses including travel and meetings, and £4,102 on financial modelling.