Linklaters has advised the lenders and hedge counterparties on the development and financing of the energy-from-waste facility in Walsall, England, which will be built, owned and operated by Encyclis. The facility will use the latest combustion technology to turn up to 436,000 tonnes of the West Midlands non-recyclable residual waste per year into 49MWe of low carbon baseload electricity – enough to power around 90,000 homes.
The primary fuel supply will come from a range of local and regional waste management companies, and the facility will provide a replacement for the region’s ageing fleet of first-generation incinerators, which are due to be retired over the coming years.
The facility will contribute to the social infrastructure in the West Midlands for the sustainable treatment of waste whilst supporting the region’s journey on the road to net-zero.
Construction of the project is expected to start in early 2024.
Richard Ginks, Partner, commented: “This project is a great example of how energy-from-waste can be used to create a cleaner, greener future. We are pleased to have supported on the financing of this facility, which will bring numerous benefits to the community, including employment and wider supply chain opportunities.”
Richard Coar, Partner, commented: “It was great to end, what was a challenging year for the UK energy/renewable market, on a high and to help our clients to successfully close another EfW transaction. Thankfully, this year is looking like it will hopefully be back to business as usual with numerous different UK low carbon projects looking to secure subsidies, supply chain and financing.”
The cross-practice Linklaters deal team was led by Energy & Infrastructure partners Richard Ginks and Richard Coar, alongside managing associates Noor Ashraf and Isabella Peplinski and associates Ed Jackson, Seneba Jama and Stella Kiggundu.
On real estate, Head of UK Planning Rory Bennett advised with managing associates Bakul Shah and Alexandra Clayton, and managing associate Eduardo Barrachina and associate Tiffany Pang advised on capital markets.
