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Thursday, 25th April 2024 |
| €400 m PPP project in waste management secures Project Finance award |
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| The first PPP project of its type in Ireland for a large waste to energy facility by European standards wins the Project Finance Award. It brought new operators into the Irish market, and, being closed against the background of a series of new corporate arrangements, the transaction was complex and challenging. |
The winner of the FINANCE Project Finance Deal of the Year was The Dublin Waste to Energy PPP Project which brought new operators into the Irish public projects market, and represents a further development of PPPs beyond the motorways sector.
The Dublin Waste to Energy PPP Project is an integral part of the Dublin Regional Waste Management Plan and a key component in waste management in the Dublin region in coming years. In addition to facilitating compliance by Ireland with its obligations under the Landfill Directive, it will provide much needed additional electricity generation capacity and the opportunity to develop district heating in Ringsend. The PPP structure also shifted construction and operation risk to the private operator rather than Dublin City Council.
For DONG and Covanta, the project sponsors, it represents their first entry to the Irish market.
The deal procures by way of a PPP a c600,000 tonne waste to energy plant at the Poolbeg peninsula, on the edge of Dublin Bay.
This is the first publicly procured waste-to-energy plant in Ireland and sets the benchmark for similar plants being procured by other local authorities throughout Ireland.
While the project was delayed at various stages it was ultimately closed against a very tight timeframe, the ultimate constraint being achieving Ireland’s obligations under the Landfill Directive.
The project is the first PPP Project of its type in Ireland and it is for a large Waste to Energy facility by European standards. The Project was closed against the backdrop of the merger of Elsam, the large Danish electricity utility and preferred bidder, and Danish Oil and Natural Gas and the entry into a joint venture between the merged entity and Covanta Energy Corporation, the largest waste to energy operator in the US.
Being the first project of its type in Ireland, the first time for DONG and Covanta to enter the Irish market and being closed against the background of a series of new corporate arrangements, the transaction was complex and challenging. The project will take waste from the Dublin Area local authorities but also has a large merchant element which gave rise to complex risk
management issues. |
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| Article appeared in the June 2008 issue.
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