London, July 11th 2024 – Qair, a European independent renewable energy company, has successfully acquired a majority stake in Northacre Renewable Energy Limited (NREL) from Evero Energy Group Limited, finalising the transaction today.
NREL is a company, established to deliver the Northacre Energy-from-Waste facility in Westbury, Wiltshire. The facility will utilise Moving Grate Technology and was granted an Operational Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency in June 2022. Additionally, it received planning permission from the Planning Inspectorate in February 2023.
Adding value to the Wiltshire area
Qair intends to provide an outlet for 243,000 tons per year non-recyclable residual fraction of the waste by completing the development of the NREL EfW project which will simultaneously supply up to 24 megawatts (MW) of sustainable base load electricity in the near future.
As a shareholder of NREL, The Hills Group, through its core activity focused on waste management in the region, will play a key role in supplying waste to the facility.
Qair targets financial close for NRE in 2025 and expects the plant to produce its first megawatt-hours in 2028. The Group is already engaged in serious discussions with a major EPC contractor.
A continued expansion in the UK
Following the purchase of the Centre for Horsham Energy Recovery (CHER) project in Horsham in September 2022, this transaction marks Qair’s second acquisition of an Energy from Waste (EfW) project in the UK.
This acquisition confirms Qair’s ambition to expand further in the United Kingdom, building on its presence there since 2019. The Group now holds a UK portfolio of onshore wind and PV projects at various stages of development totalling 400 MW in capacity, with an additional 2 GW of offshore projects awarded in the ScotWind leasing round.
Louis Blanchard, CEO of Qair, said :
“We are pleased to partner with Hills and recognize a significant opportunity to enhance our base load power capacity. Qair looks forward to working closely with Hills and to start building this new asset, which will bring value to the Wiltshire area and create synergies with our CHER project in Horsham. ”
Ed Dodd, Deputy Chief Executive of The Hills Group, said:
“The facility represents a major investment in Wiltshire’s energy infrastructure, generating secure, low-carbon energy and will provide employment both during construction and operation. It will create a sustainable, long-term solution for commercial business waste and municipal waste arising in Wiltshire and the surrounding region – which is currently destined for disposal in landfill or export to Europe. The electricity generated will boost the local grid supply network helping to unlock further development opportunities in locally designated employment zones.”
About The Hills Group
Established in 1900 The Hills Group Limited is a privately owned family company with a broad and successful portfolio of business activities which include recycling and waste management; quarrying of aggregates and production of ready-mixed concrete; and building new homes. It is a dynamic regional business which, while centred on Wiltshire, has stretched its boundaries into neighbouring areas.
For more information visit hills-group.co.uk
For media inquiries please contact
Hills Group Media Relations:
comms@hills-group.co.uk
About Qair
Qair is an independent renewable energy company developing, financing, building, and operating solar, wind, waste-to-energy, storage and green hydrogen production assets.
With 1.7 GW of capacity in operation or construction, the group’s 730 employees are developing a portfolio pipeline of 34 GW in 20 countries across Europe, Latin America and Africa. Our ambition is to become an independent leader in responsible energy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
- Media Relations : press@qair.energy | +33 (0)1 79 35 67 11