Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre (CERC)

Peter Marshall Steel Stairs are providing steel stairs, steel balustrades and other steelwork as part of the construction of a new energy recovery facility.

The Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre (CERC) is designed to generate approximately 20 megawatts of electricity from 240,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household and commercial waste. This will generate enough electricity to power 21,000 homes in the area. The aim of CERC is to reduce waste to Cornwall’s landfill sites by up to 90% and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

The plant includes a bottom ash facility, chimney stack, gatehouse, bulking up facility, administrative and visitor facilities, weighbridge, cooling units, vehicle refuelling area, parking and circulation areas.

The CERC will primarily consist of two buildings. The first building will house the energy from waste process, which includes a tipping hall bunker housing cranes as well as associated equipment. This building also includes a visitor centre, so those interested can learn about how waste is being processed into energy.

The second adjacent building will treat and store ash created from the process. This will then be transferred to another site, where it will be reused as a substitute aggregate in road construction.

The site will employ approximately seventy members of staff and will be operational 24 hours a day. The CERC will not only minimise the amount of waste being sent to landfill, but also improve the County’s recycling rate. By reducing the amount of landfill space required it avoids high landfill charges, minimising the potential tax burden that would be passed on to local residents.

Peter Marshall Steel Stairs, alongside Billington Structures, are providing steel stairs, CAT Ladders, steel balustrades and Gantry Steelwork for the CERC. The steel balustrades are for internal staircases at the plant in the main building. The installation of some of the steel items involves the use of large scale craneage and access equipment. Due to their proximity in the buildings, which has been co-ordinated by both Peter Marshall and Billington Structures, to ensure the works were completed to an agreed safe system of work.