Northern Ireland’s largest energy from waste plant with a £107 million cost, will begin construction in Belfast’s major maritime hub, Harbour Estate, on Monday.
Once completed, the facility will generate approximately 61 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity a year which is enough capacity to generate power for 14,500 homes.
The construction site of the Full Circle Generation facility was unveiled by First Minister Arlene Foster and Junior Minister Jennifer McCann on Monday.
According to the schedule, the plant to be completed in 2017 will be fueled by feedstock derived from household and commercial waste.
Much of the power from the power plant will go towards powering aircraft wing production at the Bombardier factory, located next to the planned waste plant.
'The plant will also provide a necessary solution for the waste management sector and a source of renewable energy and is, without doubt, a vital piece of infrastructure for Northern Ireland,' Foster said.
The project is expected to create approximately 250 construction jobs and around 20 permanent positions when in operation.
Full Circle Generation Limited is made up of a consortium of equity investors which includes RiverRidge Energy Limited, Green Investment Bank, Equitix and P3P Partners.
Additionally, the French construction group Bouygues Energies and Services is responsible for the design, build and operation of the facility.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
zeynep.karabay@aa.com.tr