Lockheed, CoGen to build energy-from-waste plant in Wales

Lockheed Martin has signed a teaming agreement with CoGen to develop energy-from-waste projects in the UK starting with a new plant in Cardiff, Wales.

The Cardiff facility will convert waste into up to 15 megawatts (MW) of energy, enough to power about 15,000 homes and businesses in the local area. To generate energy, the plant will process approximately 150,000 tons of waste per year, significantly reducing the need for landfill use. Construction is expected to begin in 2018, with operations starting in 2020.

“This project will make a substantial contribution to Cardiff and will further showcase how bioenergy technologies can help reduce waste, decrease pollution and generate clean, renewable energy,” said Frank Armijo, vice president of Lockheed Martin Energy. “We’re excited to team with CoGen, and we’re looking forward to other projects where we can help businesses, manufacturers and U.K. municipal and regional governments address their critical waste and energy challenges.”

CoGen will serve as the owner and developer of the Cardiff project and Lockheed Martin will lead the engineering, procurement, manufacturing and construction of the plant. The facility will use Concord Blue’s Reformer® technology, which converts waste to energy through a process called advanced gasification. The technology can convert nearly any kind of organic waste into clean, sustainable energy.

In addition to the Wales project, Lockheed Martin and CoGen will jointly pursue other similar projects, and smaller-scale opportunities to develop energy-from-waste projects for commercial and industrial businesses throughout the U.K.

“CoGen is excited to be forming this partnership with Lockheed Martin and bringing the Concord Blue Reformer® technology to the U.K.,” said Ian Brooking, chief executive officer of CoGen Limited. “Cardiff will be the first of a pipeline of projects that over the coming decade will see local, smaller-scale generation play a bigger part in delivering the U.K.’s energy requirements.”

Image: Lockheed Martin and CoGen to construct Energy-from-Waste plant in Wales. Photo: courtesy of PRNewsFoto/Lockheed Martin.