North London Heat and Power Project: Industry Open Day

The construction work will deliver the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) at Edmonton EcoPark – a 16 hectare site in the Upper Lee Valley.

This project will provide a vital asset for NLWA, ensuring the ongoing ability to dispose of waste responsibly and cost effectively for many years to come. Communities in north London will rightly expect that companies engaged in the project should work to the highest standards of health and safety, work as a “good neighbour”, be committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and play a positive role in skills development of their workforce.

The components of the NLHPP are:

• an Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), to be located in the north of the site, which will treat up to 700,000 tonnes of residual waste a year and provide enough electricity to power over 127,000 homes, with some energy diverted to supply heat to local homes and businesses via a heat network;
• a Resource Recovery Facility (RRF), to be located in the south of the site, which is where bulky waste will be separated for recycling, and will also be the location of a recycling centre for the public and businesses from 2021;
• EcoPark House, located near the River Lee Navigation, which will contain office accommodation and a visitors’ centre where people can find out more about recycling, waste, heat, and power; and
• demolition and removal of the existing Energy from Waste (EfW) facility, which will reach the end of its operational life around 2025.

The estimated capital costs for the project are some £650M. In advance of main construction activities, a series of preparatory works will be required to prepare the site, provide new utilities and create new site access points.

Attending the open day

The purpose of the industry open day is to explain in greater detail NLWA’s proposals for the preparatory works so that interested companies can engage as soon as practicable in the plans. Preparatory works are outlined in Table 1. NLWA will also invite views from the supplier market on the proposed procurement strategy, interfaces between the packages and risk allocations. Procurement of the other packages will be subject to a separate market engagement exercise which will be completed at a later date.

To express your interest in attending please register through the project website at northlondonheatandpower.london. Please be aware that not attending this event does not preclude future engagement in procurement activities.

NLWA will also be keen to hear from the construction industry on ways in which this project can promote innovation, sustainability, and engagement with the local supply chain. At this stage NLWA is primarily seeking to engage with main contractors. Potential sub-contractors to these procurements are welcome to submit their company details to info@northlondonheatandpower.london if they wish for NLWA to pass them on to main contractors.

Sequencing of procurement

NLWA’s strategy is to sequence construction by developing the preparatory works, then the Resource Recovery Facility and EcoPark House, and then the main Energy Recovery Facility construction, with a view to the latter being operational by the end of 2025. The anticipated work packages are set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Breakdown of preparatory works packages

Methods of procurement

The procurement of larger value packages will be governed by the Public Contract Regulations 2015. A Prior Information Notice (PIN) will be published in the Official Journal of the EU in advance of the procurement of the contracts for the RRF, EcoPark House and the ERF. Smaller value contracts below the EU threshold will be advertised directly by NLWA.  NLWA is considering splitting some packages into lots, and industry views on this will also form part of the Authorities’ engagement with the supply chain.

Further information

For further information about the NLHPP project, visit northlondonheatandpower.london or call 020 8489 3940.