Air Products to build large WTE plant in U.K.

   Air Products (Lehigh Valley, PA) has announced a plan to build and operate what it’s describing as the world’s largest waste-to-energy (WTE) plant, near Billingham in the United Kingdom. Air Products will use an advanced gasification provided by AlterNRG (Calgary, Alberta) at the Tees Valley plant, which will have an approximate capacity of 50 megawatts (MW). To be located at the New Energy and Technology Business Park near Billingham, the plant will divert up to 350,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste from landfills per year. Air Products said that has the necessary environmental and planning approvals for the facility, which is scheduled to enter into commercial operation in 2014. The company said that site preparation work has begun, and full-scale construction will begin in a few weeks.