Exclusive: Could UK waste generate Dong`s energy?

The chief executive of Denmark's largest power producer has revealed the company may seek to invest in the UK's fledgling waste-to-energy market as part of plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 85 per cent by 2040.

Anders Eldrup, chief executive of Dong Energy, told BusinessGreen that it has considered the UK market as a potential location for power plants that convert household waste to energy.

However, he added that any long-term waste-to-energy investment plans would depend on favourable market conditions.

'We're looking into it and it could be a proposal for the UK,' he said. 'As the situation is just now we don't know what will be the rules, but we will follow it closely and if it's a good regime it will be of interest to us.'

The British government has said it wants to see an expansion in waste-to-energy and anaerobic digestion plants and has recently increased incentives for on-farm biogas technologies. However, investors have been waiting for greater clarity on the future structure of renewable energy subsidies before commiting to new waste-to-energy plants.

Dong already produces heat and electricity at three waste-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants located in Jutland.

It also recently set up a consortium to investigate the potential of bioenergy technologies, which will, among other things, look at converting an existing biomass-fired CHP plant to allow it to handle waste products from a bioethanol plant.

The group will also study the possibility of constructing a waste treatment plant which will use enzymes to separate waste fractions for use in biogas production.

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