Newhaven ERF


The Newhaven ERF is an incinerator, in the town of Newhaven in the English county of East Sussex, for the treatment of up to 210,000 tonnes per annum of the county's municipal solid waste. The facility, built by Veolia Environmental Services, was approved by planners at the Conservative-controlled East Sussex County Council.
The facility treats household waste that cannot be reused, composted or recycled and generates electricity from it. The electricity produced is sold to the National Grid and is enough to supply 25,000 homes. 88 tonnes of steam are produced per hour which is used to turn the generator and create electricity; the steam is cooled back into water and reused in a closed loop system.

Construction

Construction of the facility began in April 2008 and was completed in late 2011. The facility became operational in 2012. The building itself is tall, but the chimneys are tall. It is the first of its kind to be built in the South Downs area and cost around £175 million to complete, including a unique ‘floating caisson’ which was used to house 20 metres of the plant underground and reduce the proposed height to meet planning requirements.