The Infrastructure Planning Commission has given consent to a 65MW energy from waste plant at Rookery South, Bedforshire. Minister of State Charles Hendry congratulated the Commision for giving the public confidence for making the decision within the statutory three month period.

Mr Hendry said: “I am very pleased that the IPC’s first decision has been delivered on time. A new energy from waste plant at Rookery South is an important development for energy security and for the environmental recovery of waste that would otherwise have gone to landfill.”

The plant will use household and commercial waste, leftover after recycling and composting, as a fuel to generate heat and electricity. The facility will convert approximately 585,000 tonnes of residual waste per year into 65MWe of electricity, of which 55MWe will be exported to the national grid.

The Commission is an independent body responsible for major infrastructure applications and for making them within statutory deadlines set out in the Planning Act 2008.