28/01/2016
The Resources and Energy Team at law firm Bevan Brittan has advised recycling, renewable energy and waste management company Viridor on a contract with Tomorrow’s Valley – a group of four Welsh local authorities, led by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and including Merthyr Tydfil, with Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen Councils.
The 25-year contract, which may be extended for another five years, begins in April 2016 and is backed by funding from the Welsh Government.
The project will result in the treatment of 95,000 tonnes of residual waste per year which will be processed at Viridor’s £223m Trident Park Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Cardiff. The ERF will be capable of generating 30MW of renewable power, enough to provide 50,000 households with their entire electricity needs. The ERF also has the potential to deliver a district heating network to local homes and businesses.
Bevan Brittan's Senior Associate, Nathan Bradberry, legal adviser on the project commented:
"Having advised Viridor on the Engineer Procure Construct contract for the Trident Park ERF, we are delighted to have advised Viridor on this project. It will result in significant amounts of residual waste (following the removal of materials for recycling) being diverted from landfill and used for the generation of low carbon energy and recycled aggregates."
Nadeem Arshad, partner in the Resources and Energy team at Bevan Brittan commented:
"The innovative contract signed with the Tomorrow's Valley partnership means that Viridor is now managing in the region of 270,000 tonnes of residual waste from 9 Welsh local authorities at the Trident Park ERF. Bevan Brittan is very pleased to have helped the Viridor team on another Welsh waste deal. This project helps to cement their status as one of the leading resource and energy companies in Wales."
Commenting on the project, Louise Shaw, Senior Commercial Solicitor at Viridor's parent company, Pennon Group PLC, said:
"We at the Pennon legal team are delighted to have worked with Viridor to deliver this successful project and value the waste sector focused legal support by Bevan Brittan in concluding this project."
Ian McAulay, chief executive of Viridor, said:
“Through our £223 million investment at Cardiff, Viridor is helping nine Welsh authorities deliver a low-carbon vision for transforming what once was ‘waste’, generating renewable energy from what remains.”
The project adds to the portfolio of resource management and energy infrastructure projects that Bevan Brittan's Resource and Energy Team have advised on in the UK in the last 12 months.
