Golden opportunity to profit from waste, says Savills

By Alex Richards on March 17th 2011

West Country landowners could create significant new income streams by generating energy from waste, according to rural consultant Savills.

With landfill becoming increasingly expensive and unpopular, local authorities and commercial businesses are finding new ways to dispose of waste and generate green energy at the same time. “Until recently, the landfill of non-hazardous waste was seen as a golden opportunity to make money from a quarry void - it was often said that the hole was more valuable than the mineral,” says director Mike Pennington.

Many of the large landfill sites in the South West generate significant amounts of electricity from methane gas released by the rotting waste. Landowners commonly receive more than 10% of the value of the electricity sold, which can easily run into six figure annual sums. “This is now the largest source of renewable energy in the country,” he adds. “But new legislation and competition from other forms of waste treatment have drastically reduced the development of new landfill capacity.”

Instead, councils and other businesses are processing, composting and recycling more waste, opening up opportunities for industrial rents where sites are easily accessible. “Rents are often linked to the amount of material handled – and with companies having to make large investments into the facilities, you can be sure of a safe and long term rental income.”

Savills is actively identifying new opportunities and negotiating terms with waste operators on behalf of landowners throughout the region. “There are also emerging technologies which do not attract the same planning permission difficulties, including mechanical and biological treatment, composting and anaerobic digestion. These generate valuable soil improvers as well as potentially green energy,” says Mr Pennington.

“The dynamic of the waste industry is changing rapidly and we anticipate the move from landfill to new waste treatment technologies will happen over the next 10 years or so. With struggling government budgets we expect there will be more waste treatment facilities that are not reliant on local authority contracts, but operate in the open market as merchant facilities. With the potential addition of government incentives, the opportunities for investors and landowners are extremely exciting.”

Golden opportunity to profit from waste, says Savills

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