EQTEC signs land deal for Billingham waste gasification and power project
(AIM: EQT ) said Haverton WTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of EQTEC, and Scott Bros. Enterprises Limited ("Scott Bros") have signed a conditional land purchase agreement.
The agreement is in relation to the land on which the proposed up to 25 MWe Billingham waste gasification and power plant at Haverton Hill, Billingham, UK, will be constructed.
The Company announced back in December 2020 that the parties had signed a call option and exclusivity agreement to acquire the waste gasification and power plant project site.
Under the terms of today’s land purchase agreement, the consideration for the purchase of the Project Site is £8.6 million which is payable at completion of the land purchase, which must occur on or before a date 12 months from the date of signing of the agreement.
The Billingham project is part of a portfolio of projects under review by a European owner-operator of waste to energy infrastructure, which is expecting to provide the financing required for the construction phases and commercially operate the plants and this Project.
Assuming the requisite financing is provided, EQTEC expects to act as co-developer to provide the design and core advance gasification technology. To date, it has already secured a grid connection offer for the Project and completed technical due diligence with providers.
Shares in EQTEC have seen an over four-fold increase in value since the beginning of November 2020 from 0.48p. The stock dipped 0.76% lower this morning following the news.
It said ongoing discussions with potential funders and co-developers are progressing well. EQTEC said it has created a revised planning approval for the project which it believes “both improves the economics of the Project and reduces the size of the footprint of the plant.”
“We are assembling the optimal construction resources and delivery model for the Project. The acquisition of the Project Site means we remain on track to deliver the UK's first sustainable waste-to-energy plant using EQTEC's leading advanced gasification technology and solutions,” commented David Palumbo, Chief Executive Officer of EQTEC.
He said, "Billingham is estimated to convert 200,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household and commercial waste each year into 25MW of green electricity and 34MW of heat production. The Project is expected to create jobs and deliver environmental and economic improvements to the local community as well as, we believe, attractive returns for our shareholders."
To date, four commercial plants have been built and are using the Company’s gasification technology, which is proven and patented for sustainable waste-to-energy projects.
The oldest such plant, which was built back in 2011, has operated for over 125,000 independently audited engine hours, receiving highly commendable feedback from leading gas engine company Jenbacher relating to purity of the syngas, reliability and efficiency.
EQTEC said its technology and solutions can ‘significantly improve both the economic and environmental impact of many waste-to-energy projects, with no harmful or toxic emissions.’
The technology has, in the Board's view, the potential to become a new UK and global standard for many traditional waste-to-energy facilities to collaborate with, reducing reliance on increasingly less attractive waste elimination methods and delivering new resilient and locally based clean energy infrastructure across the UK and internationally.
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