THE Foster-Wheeler waste-to-energy incinerator to be built in north Co Dublin in conjunction with the ESB will "comply with the strict environmental protection requirements mandated by local agencies as well as by the European Union", the US company has said.
Foster-Wheeler, in New Jersey, said it won the contract for the plant against seven other bidders in Ireland's second Alternative Energy Requirements (AERII) programme.
The contract was first announced by the Minister of State for Energy, Mr Emmet Stagg, last month, but this is the first public statement on the project by Foster-Wheeler.
The president and chief operating officer, Mr Martin Karpenski, said this week that "this plant will provide one more example of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of employing state-of-the-art technology to convert municipal solid waste to electricity".
He said that "more and more countries around the world are beginning to recognise the serious problem caused by the need to dispose of growing amounts of garbage. It is established that waste-to-energy offers an economical, effective and environmentally friendly long-term solution and is compatible with recycling and source-reduction efforts."
The Foster-Wheeler statement said it is also building a plant in Lisbon which will use the same "state-of-the-art technology". It owns and operates major energy facilities throughout the US and has other projects under development throughout the world.
The company says it is "unique among developers and contractors in that it provides in-house development, engineering, manufacturing, construction and operations services through a Foster-Wheeler subsidiary".
When completed the plant in Dublin should provide 40 permanent jobs. It will be fuelled by 490,000 tons of non-hazardous solid waste from the greater Dublin area or 50 per cent of the total waste generated in the area.