Fichtner provides Owners Engineer Services for Construction of Rookery South EfW

The Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility is a state-of-the-art thermal treatment plant based in Bedfordshire. The facility sustainably processes 545,000 t/a of non-recyclable residual waste and generates more than 60 MW of electricity which is exported to the national grid. The plant plays a vital role in the sustainable disposal of commercial and non-hazardous waste, allowing the UK to continue its advancement away from landfilling and exporting to EfW’s in other countries.

Fichtner was engaged as the Independent Testing Agency and the Owner’s Engineer for the construction and commissioning stages of the project. From notice to proceed to take over, our services included:

  • Attending the HAZCON & HAZOP meetings to ensure agreed actions are implemented
  • Establishing appropriate cost management tools and procedures
  • Interpretation and enforcement of the technical and commercial terms contained within the EPC Contract
  • Review of contract documents and familiarisation with defined procedures, obligations, and procedures
  • Major plant selection and specifications including adequacy of capacity, redundancy considerations etc
  • Auditing of Site Safety Procedures, Verification of Site Safety and monitoring compliance with Health and Safety requirements
  • Monitoring progress of works against Contract Programme and EPC Contractor’s Critical Path Schedules
  • Final inspection of plant by all disciplines to confirm completion of construction and issue agreed snagging and incomplete works schedules
  • Witnessing and assessment take Over

The 36-month construction project reached completion on schedule despite the challenging conditions faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Operations began successfully in early 2022 and the Rookery South Community Energy Initiative was launched which long-term, will lower the annual electricity bills for the community located close to the plant.