Contractor appointed for £57m energy and recycling facility

Yorkshire Water has awarded engineering and construction company a contract worth over £57m for a new energy and recycling facility in Huddersfield.

J Murphy & Sons is set to deliver the design and build of Yorkshire Water’s new facility, including new anaerobic digesters; a new sludge reception plant; sludge thickening plant and storage; CHP and dual fuel boilers; sludge dewatering and lime treatment; cake storage and a new liquor treatment plant.

Work has already started this month on the design and is set to finish in May 2021.

The new facility is part of Yorkshire Water’s ongoing blueprint to supply safe drinking water and handle waste water for its five million customers.

John Murphy, CEO of J Murphy & Sons, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Yorkshire Water on this important project. We are confident that using our ever-growing engineering expertise and working closely with them, we will deliver a solution which provides outstanding value for their customers.

“We pride ourselves on being able deliver solutions that improve peoples’ lives, and look forward to doing just that on this project”.

Mark Allsop, of Yorkshire Water, added: “This scheme supports our commitment to invest in renewable energy and benefit the environment as we look at ways of reducing carbon emissions.

“Anaerobic digestion is a fantastic technology, heating up sludge to produce a bio-gas which is used to generate electricity. The new facility is expected to be ready to open by mid-2021.

Stuart Rothery, Murphy’s water sector director, said: “This is a great example of our strategy in action. Building on our strengths and in particular, the process engineering expertise we acquired in 2017, we’re now in a position to really generate value for our UK clients by offering an integrated in-house service for complex water and wastewater design and construction.”