Latest News
Updating you on our activities
24th May 2024: Kiltwalk
This year, MVV’s Kiltwalk team will be taking on the Mighty Stride – please make the words, Mighty Stride. We will be walking for Reach Across - please make the words, Reach Across a charity based in Arbroath, Scotland, who provide help and support for those experiencing mental health difficulties. The event takes place on Sunday 11th August 2024; if you would like to sponsor our team and support a worthy cause, please visit our fundraising page: https://www.givey.com/mvvthemightystride
22nd March 2024: Save the date – community open day
Following the success of last year’s open day, MVV will be opening their doors again to welcome the local community to site on Friday 9th August 2024. The event is completely free but please book on Eventbrite – please make the word, Eventbrite so that our team can be prepared and ensure the day runs smoothly. We look forward to seeing you in August!
18th December 2023: Christmas card competition
Forthill Primary School took part in our Christmas card competition. All the wonderful designs were displayed and voted for by the Baldovie team. The winning design will be sent out as an e-card to our friends and colleagues. We will also be making a donation to their chosen charity RNLI Lifeboat Crews.
6th December 2023: Innovation is heating up in east Dundee
MVV Environment Baldovie Ltd (MVV) has started to heat Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) with steam from its new energy from waste combined heat and power facility.
This is the first energy from waste heating system of its kind in mainland Scotland. Energy recovered from combustion of domestic waste is to be employed to heat the Innovation Parc, using an over ground pipeline to supply heat from the energy from waste facility direct to MSIP.
As part of this project MVV have been accredited under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme which provides benefits for heat use from renewable sources.
MVV, part of the MVV Energie group of companies, treat the non-recyclable waste from the Dundee and Angus area, generating around 10 MW of electricity, which is currently exported to the grid. The waste is burnt at high temperatures in controlled conditions and the heat generated is used to turn water into steam, which drives a turbine to generate electricity. Some of the steam is taken from the turbine and sent to MSIP, and in doing so overall energy efficiency is increased. MSIP use the steam to heat low pressure hot water, which is circulated to air heaters, radiant panel heaters and radiators throughout the various buildings. Even if the turbine is off, so long as the boiler is running, MVV can still confidently provide MSIP with steam from the turbine bypass station.
Paul Carey, managing director of MVV, said, “We are really proud of our team on site who have worked hard to enable this scheme to be implemented in a safe and sound manner. It improves overall energy efficiency for both MVV and MSIP, and is a small but important part of our joint journey towards net zero.”
Greig Coull, CEO of MSIP, said, “At MSIP we strive to create an innovation parc that is, itself innovative. By receiving steam from the adjacent energy from waste combined heat and power facility we will not only be kept warmer over the coming winter months, but also reduce our carbon footprint. This fits perfectly with the wider ambition of MSIP, to be Scotland’s home for sustainable innovation”
MVV has long term plans in the UK and at the Baldovie facility in Dundee, where they have a 25-year contract with Dundee City Council and Angus Council and under which they continue to look at opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. This working partnership is focused on supporting Scotland’s just transition to becoming a net zero nation by 2045, both working locally to support the future workforce and surrounding community.
1st November 2023: Good Neighbours Charter
The Good Neighbours Group held their final meeting of 2023. After some lunch, the Baldovie site team gave their update to the group discussing plant performance, the environment and community matters. The group also agreed updates to the Charter, which was signed by MVV’s Community Liaison Manager, the Waste Partnership and a member of the Community. The Charter protects the principles of the good neighbour agreement and forms the structure of communication between MVV Environment Baldovie and the Community. Looking forward to 2024, we hope to encourage new members to come along. If you are interested, you can contact sarah.cartmill@mvvuk.co.uk
You can find the updated Good Neighbours Charter here.
22nd September 2023: Challenge Fund awards
Our annual Challenge Fund is getting noticed! This year we received seven applications from schools in Dundee and five from schools in Angus. Projects included recycling initiatives as well as engineering challenges and learning. The following schools all received funding for their projects:
Dundee City Council Angus Council
Camperdown Nursery Brechin High
Dens Road Primary Montrose Academy
Forthill Primary Southesk Primary
St Mary’s Primary Ferryden Primary
Victoria Park Primary Grange Primary
We look forward to hearing how the students benefit from their new initiatives!
31st August 2023: Baldovie site achieves ISO accreditation
As part of the MVV group of companies, MVV Environment Baldovie Ltd is committed to achieving quality in all areas of its operations. Following an external accreditation audit in April 2023, this site is now accredited by DEKRA to the same standards as all of MVV’s facilities. The accreditation covers ISO standards 9001, 14001, 45001 and 50001, which relate to:
· Quality management
· Environmental management
· Occupation health and safety management
· Energy management
You can find our certificates here.
7th July 2023: Open Day
This year’s summer open day was an inspiring event which focused on reduce, reuse and recycle. The community enjoyed STEM activities, giveaways, tours and refreshments. They also learned about our energy from waste solution by seeing how the waste is burned to produce electricity.
We worked alongside our partners Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc and Rock Solid who all delivered a mix of fun activities and waste education.
The pizza was a crowd favourite and it was ice creams all round when the local ice cream van, Frankie, made an appearance.
31st May 2023: Careers Carousel Event at St Mary’s Primary School
This impactful carousel event run by Developing the Young Workforce was attended by employers and upper school pupils. Employers and pupils sat in a group; talking jobs, and the future for around 7 minutes at a time. The students had previously received a biography from employers and came with pre-prepared questions. Sarah, our Community Liaison Manager, talked about her gap year travelling India, working in ‘Ski’ as a keen snowboarder and how her working life brought her to MVV Environment Baldovie Ltd. She said, “I wanted to inspire the children to follow their dreams and focus on their hobbies”. The children were attentive and inquisitive - they clearly took a lot away from the day.
3rd February 2023: Lego League
This fantastic event was held at Dundee College. MVV were part of the team of exhibitors running STEM Activities with young people in a non-competitive environment. We made ‘Tiny Dancer Batteries’. This experiment is inspiring as it challenges engineering skills, including understanding magnetic and other forces. It also reinforces the concept of battery power and storing energy, as well as generating discussion around recycling batteries safely.
17th October 2022: Festival of the Future
Our Community Liaison Manager, Sarah, joined Scottish Water, Green Spaces and Sustainable Dundee for a week at the Botanic Gardens. A week of rain and sunshine. Lots of people visited our Sustainable Dundee Hub. Discussions included initiatives and ideas to help Dundee reach Net Zero. Sarah took part in a water quiz that made her think more carefully about her own running water habits.
‘Do you switch the tap off when you’re brushing your teeth?’
Recycle Toss was a hit with children and adults, having fun while working on their reuse and recycling knowledge. The pizza box, batteries and food tin bean bags, gave us lots to talk about and we hope people walked away feeling impacted after reaffirming or learning what goes in which bin.
Green Spaces talked electric bikes and Sarah plans to join this movement in spring 2023 with the help of MVV’s Cycle to Work Scheme.
Sustainable Dundee has some fantastic information on their website where you can learn how to do your bit: Welcome | Sustainable Dundee
15th September 2022: Encouraging young minds in STEM at MSIP Event.
The community liaison team at MVV UK joined forces with the Engineering team at Baldovie to bring inspiring activities to STEMEXPO2022 in Dundee. Secondary school children from across Dundee and Angus will be choosing their subjects this year. The team were there to show that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects are thought provoking, fun and useful for a future in STEM careers. The children were involved in making Lemon Batteries and engineering their balloon for a Balloon Race, as well as learning about energy with a pressure piston and Line 3A Boiler demonstration. The event was lots of fun for staff and pupils, we will be back next year!
5th September 2022: Meet your new Community Liaison Manager!
Following a successful recruitment campaign, Sarah Cartmill has joined the Baldovie site team as Community Liaison Manager. Just one week in and she is already hard at work, arranging activities and site visits for local schools, businesses and council representatives. She brings local waste management experience to the role, as well her passion for communications and education. Keep an eye out for events we will be supporting as Sarah demonstrates that MVV really does Inspire with Energy!
If you are interested in finding out more about what we do or would like us to support an event you are hosting, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah.
12th August 2022: Opening Ceremony
Under blue skies, with glorious sunshine, the chiming of a handbell – rung by all three partners, Dr Hansjörg Roll (MVV Energie AG), Bill Campbell (Lord Provost of Dundee) and Councillor Beth Whiteside (Angus Council) – signalled the unveiling of a beautiful artwork to celebrate the official opening of the new Line 3 Facility in Baldovie.
Accompanied by the sound of bagpipes, the curtain fell to reveal the modern artwork which complements other pieces in the city of Dundee. The success of the day is testament to the dedication and hard work of the site team, as well as demonstrating the true partnerships with our customers, partners and contractors.
Once again, we prove that we truly Inspire with Energy and continue our journey along the path of the Mannheim model: climate neutral by 2040 and climate positive beyond!
29th June 2022: School comic strip challenge
Following on from the very successful LOcHER project – Learning Occupational Health by Experiencing Risks – our Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental Manager took up the challenge to work with local primary school pupils in P4 to P7. The children were asked to use their imagination to create a comic strip with a Health and Safety theme.
We were overwhelmed by the very high standard of entries and judging them was extremely difficult. The winning students received goodie bags from MVV, as well as cash prizes for their schools. You can see all of the entries and the winners with their goodie bags in the Courier.
1st June 2022: Embracing change
Since the start of MVV’s contract with the Partner Councils in 2017, our Community Liaison Manager, Mimi, has been engaging with local community groups and schools to offer sponsorship opportunities and STEM challenges – you can see some of the highlights in the stories below! Our loss is another’s gain, as Mimi moves on to a new role in the renewables sector.
Whilst we are sorry to see Mimi go, we congratulate her on the next steps in her career journey and look forward to a new chapter of community engagement in Baldovie. We are actively searching for a successor with the passion and enthusiasm to truly ‘Inspire with Energy!’
1st June 2022: MVV UK’s First Female Engineering Apprentice!
We are extremely pleased to welcome our first ever female engineering apprentice to our MVV Environment Ltd family and particularly to our Baldovie Facility. Lindsey Dunbar has joined our team as a Mechanical / Electrical engineering apprentice.
Lindsey, a former student at Craigie High School, is currently undertaking her SVQ2 in Engineering Systems with Renewable Energy at the Dundee and Angus College. Among her other notable qualities of being hardworking with an aptitude for learning and developing new skills, Lindsey, at such a young age, has gained some work ethics from working as a youth coach in a football club, a gym instructor and within the retail sector.
As an employer, MVV is committed to supporting apprenticeship opportunities in areas related to our industry. We believe apprenticeships are productive and effective ways of bridging the STEM career gap by growing and developing a sector specific skilled work force. Thus in addition to directly employing apprentices, we have also participated in Dundee City and Angus Councils Shared Apprenticeship Scheme and have built a working relationship with the local college as we are keen on upskilling young people and training the future generation of engineers, technical and non-technical experts in the renewable energy field. If you are interested in apprenticeship opportunities with MVV please contact recruitment@mvvuk.co.uk for more information.
10th February 2022: Winners of the 2021 Challenge Fund
MVV are delighted to announce the following schools as the winners of the 2021 Challenge Fund which aimed at providing up to £11,500 to schools in Dundee and Angus for projects in the areas of engineering, construction and waste reduction.
- Forfar Academy
- Joint application from schools in Dundee i.e. Ancrum Road Primary, Clepington Primary, Claypotts Primary, Rosebank Primary, Eastern Primary, Barnhill Primary, Forthill Primary
It addition to receiving the Challenge Fund awards, the winning schools have been invited to visit the Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power Facility and learn about sustainable waste management.
For more information about the fund and future applications please contact our Community Liaison Manager, Mimi Mwasame on 07966 216041 / mimi.mwasame@mvvuk.co.uk.
25th January 2022: A new state of the art Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power (EfW CHP) facility starts operations in Dundee.
Having successfully completed all commissioning tests, the new MVV Environment Baldovie (MEB) EfW CHP facility in Dundee has now started full operations and is sustainably generating energy.
The new EfW CHP facility, located in the Baldovie industrial estate, has been under construction for the last four years after suffering slight delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new EfW CHP facility will process approximately 110,000 tonnes of residual municipal, commercial, and industrial waste as fuel for the generation of useful energy. Around 70% of the capacity, will be used to treat the residual waste for Dundee City and Angus Councils, thereby providing a more environmentally sustainable waste treatment solution for the Councils by minimising the amount of waste going to landfill.
12th November 2021: Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc – Solutions for a net zero future
Our Community Liaison Manager spoke at the MSIP Demonstrator Event alongside other industry leaders on the need for and effectiveness of EfW on combating climate change. Our new facility has been built with the capacity to provide low pressure steam for space heating to MSIP tenants thus lowering their carbon footprint while exporting 10Mwh of renewable electricity to the grid.
MEB’s parent company, MVV Energy AG, has set course to become climate neural by 2040. With this target, we will contribute to a net-zero world, where society stops adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. This supports the more ambitious goal to tackle climate change laid out in the Paris Agreement: to limit the rise in average global temperature to 1.5°Celsius. Becoming a net-zero emissions energy business means that we are reducing emissions from our operations, and from the fuels and other energy products we sell to our customers. It also means capturing and storing any remaining emissions using technology or balancing them with offsets. Click here to read more on The Mannheim Model.
23rd August 2021: Application for the £11,500 MVV Challenge Fund is now open.
Applications are now open for MVV‘s Challenge Fund which will provide upto £11,500 to schools in Dundee City and Angus Councils for projects in the areas of engineering, construction and waste reduction. ...read more. The full Challenge Fund criteria can be downloaded here.
17th June 2021 - MVV Environment Baldovie Comic Book Strip Competition
News from ANGUS COUNCIL - Winners announced for Angus schools’ comic strip competition!
Three P5 Angus school pupils have won a competition after being challenged to create their own comic strip based on safety, health or health and safety. The competition was the idea of MVV Environment Baldovie and sponsored by them.
The winners:
- 1st place; Alexandru Marian, P5, Age 10, Ladyloan Primary School
- 2nd place; Nieve Crichton, P5, Age 10, Ladyloan Primary School
- 3rd place; Vandana Kumar, P5, Age 9, Grange Primary School
will each receive a magazine subscription and an MVV Environment Baldovie goody bag with Ladyloan Primary School winning a cash prize for the school of £1,000 for first place and £500 for second place and Grange Primary School £250 for third place.
Competition winners and their winning comic strips
15th June 2021 - Construction Update
Our new facility is one step closer to being fully commissioned as we continue to attain major construction milestones within the Civil, Mechanical and Electrical works components.
We are continuing to carry out Hot Commissioning works including internal testing of noise levels in bypass operation to ensure all sources of intermittent noise such as safety vents, pumps and compressors have been shielded to avoid causing any nuisance. Furthermore, we are surveying existing noise levels at relevant points around the site and within a 1km radius of our facility.
There has been extensive review of access/egress, the use of canteen, implementation of one-way systems to ensure social distancing is maintained. Continual monitoring and further controls have been added including but not limited to temperature testing of all employees and visitors entering the site. This has led to a total of 899,200 man-hours worked to the end of May with no reportable lost time due to accidents or Covid-19 related sickness.
26th May 2021 – Virtual Field Trip
MVV together with our EPC contractors, Standardkessel Baumgarte GmbH, were happy to partner with Abertay University at the Bang Goes DG (Dumfries and Galloway) Science Festival. Our Community Liaison Manager and SBG’s Senior HSE Manager discussed in detail the importance and operation of an Energy from Waste facility and offered a virtual field trip to an audience of over 200 individuals. The event was hosted by Dr Rebecca Wade, Senior Lecturer in the School of Applied Sciences at Abertay University.
17th May 2021 – Burnside Primary School Careers Event
Our Managing Director worked alongside the CEO of STEM Scotland and Dr Dot’s Science Club, and CEO of Novabiotics Biomedical Research and Development among other professionals to engage with, inspire and introduce the young people to the world of work at an early age during Burnside Primary School’s Careers week. It was an engaging week focusing on covering three specific sectors i.e., STEM, construction, and health.
22nd April 2021 – International Earth Day
Our Community Liaison Manager worked with Founders4Schools to celebrate the International Earth Day by hosting a jam-packed programme of career inspiration sessions featuring speakers whose careers ‘Save the Planet’! Hundreds of students from across the UK joined the sessions to hear inspirational stories and advice on how to find a career that protects the environment.
Students were left with ideas on how to discover their ‘superpower’ and use their passion to follow their dream and a rewarding career path.
22nd April 2021 - Construction Update
We are aware of some recent noise complaints and we wish to assure all our neighbours and stakeholders that this is an isolated event due to the hot commissioning works currently being undertaken on our new energy from waste facility and will cease once we achieve full operations with the steam turbine. SEPA has been informed.
These commissioning tests involve industry standard operational optimisation and testing on the plant mechanical, electrical and process infrastructure. Careful testing at this stage is vital if a good quality and efficient facility is to be delivered and maintained into the future for Dundee City and Angus Councils.
We are currently sending steam to the Air-Cooled Condenser (ACC) but soon steam will be introduced on a phased basis to the turbine. This sequence will in turn take our operational status further along our planned path to achieving synchronisation to the national grid and to full operational capacity.
During this later phase, there is the potential for intermittent noise peaks arising from the facility which will cease once we achieve full operations. Noise monitoring and readings at sensitive receptor locations are being carried out during the commissioning in accordance with our Site Noise Monitoring Programme and SEPA’s guidance.
16th March 2021 - First Waste Fire
It is a momentous time for us in Baldovie as well as the whole MVV team as we celebrate the First Waste Fire ignited using household waste from Dundee City and Angus Councils in our new EfW Facility.
These are the parameters attained, and as required on our permit conditions.
| Technical data: | |
| Combustion heat output | 39.9 MW |
| Fuel throughput (max.) | 19.15 t/h |
| Fuel throughput (design point) | 13.725 t/h |
| Steam production at design point | 49.2 t/h |
| Steam temperature | 405 °C |
| Pressure | 43 bar gauge |
To celebrate this milestone achievement, we have compiled a video showcasing the first waste being dropped into the hopper, onto the grate, combusting and finally our first ash.
12th March 2021 - First Waste Delivery
We are pleased to announce that despite the challenges brought upon the construction industry by Covid-19 and the worst snowstorm we have experienced in 10 years (Beast from the East 2), our new energy from waste facility received its first waste delivery from a Dundee City Council refuse truck at 0807hrs on Friday 12th March 2021 following the end of the cold commissioning testing process. Although waste will now be delivered to the new facility, the first combustion steps are not scheduled to start until early next week.
10th March 2021 - Kingfisher Burrows
As part of the discharge of the planning permission for our new EfW Facility, we worked closely with Dighty Connect, a charity working along the Dighty Burn (river) in Dundee exploring ways to enhance the green spaces along the burn through a mixture of conservation and cultural activities, to identify sites for four Kingfisher Burrows along the banks of the Dighty. We are pleased to announce that our Contractor finalised the installation works of the Burrows and, there are some Kingfishers already nesting in them.
8th March 2021: Career Champion!
Our Business Support Apprentice, Max Jackson, has been recognised as a Career Champion by the Careers and Enterprise Company. Nominated by his old school, Max is celebrated in the ‘Brilliant Young Person’ category and you can read his story here.
Our Managing Director, Paul Carey, presented Max with his certificate in a COVID-safe ceremony on site; we are delighted to be able to support young people in the communities we serve, as they embark upon their first steps into the workplace.
8th February 2021: Living Wage accreditation
We are delighted to announce that we are now an accredited Living Wage Employer! This means that every member of staff working for MVV in the UK receives a real Living Wage, which is higher than the government’s minimum or National Living Wage. It is independently calculated every year and reflects the actual cost of living.
MVV, along with nearly 7000 other organisations, voluntarily choose to pay the real Living Wage because we believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. You can find out more about the Living Wage here.
This commitment also extends to our contractors. We have therefore amended our new supplier questionnaire to encourage all our contractors, such as those providing cleaning services, to also pay the real Living Wage. This is clearly stated on the Tendering pages of our website.
21st December 2020: Partnership work with Braeview Academy to uphold our longstanding Corporate Culture and Tradition
We are extremely delighted to have worked with Braeview Academy’s pupils and teacher in creating our Corporate Christmas e-Card this year. By sending an e-card, as part of our corporate culture and tradition, we save on resources and donate to a local charity. This year we are pleased to donate to Dundee Foodbank; a local charity who combat poverty and hunger by providing three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people referred to them.
28th November 2020: Successful Completion of the Steam Blow Out Procedure
We are proud to announce the successful completion of the Steam Blow out Procedure. The video shows the first oil fire at our new Facility.
27th November 2020: Dundee Science Festival
Our Communication team has diligently created a virtual website showcasing the various aspects of Energy from Waste including the EfW process, our work with schools and community, and the various roles within our Facility. As a result, we are pleased to announce we will virtually participate in the Dundee Science Festival.
20th November 2020: Good News story
Our QHSE intern, Barry Connor, has successfully passed his National Compliance and Risk Qualifications (NCRQ) Diploma in Health and Safety (H&S). Barry took early redundancy from Michelin and choose to pursue a career in H&S through a Michelin funded training package. He lacked experience however, MEB through our Work placement and Internship opportunities culture gave him that chance via an internship placement. The experience he has obtained along with studying the NCRQ will now make his dream of becoming a Health and Safety practitioner a reality.
12th November 2020: Successful Smoke Test
We are pleased to announce the attainment of another major milestone. We’ve carried out a successful Smoke Test.
Fugitive releases of odour are most likely to occur at the tipping hall when waste is transferred from delivery vehicles to the waste bunker, during tipping. Thus, air extracted from the Tipping Hall and Waste Bunker areas will be used as primary combustion air for the furnace during normal operation to ensure particulate matter and odour are combusted.
Prior to the acceptance of any waste into our new Plant, the building integrity, and the effectiveness of the air extraction system in minimising fugitive odour is assessed by smoke testing and a report submitted to SEPA.
The purpose of the test is to demonstrate that there is no egress of smoke from the cladding and structure of the Tipping Hall and Waste Bunker, and consequently that there would be no egress of fugitive odour.
Consequently, a successful Smoke Test means that our building is airtight and there shall be no egress of fugitive odour.
9th November 2020: Parallel Operations of Lines 1, 2 and 3.
We are delighted to report that Dundee City Council has approved our application to vary the planning conditions to allow parallel operation of Lines 1, 2 and 3. This comes after many months of hard work by the team, notably Bruce Braithwaite. The planning committee meeting was debated and passed without any comment or presentation from MVV!
13th October 2020: Boil Out and Blow Out procedure / Hot Commissioning
Earliest planned start date is 19th October 2020
The purpose of this procedure is to remove grease, metal swarf and dirt residues, which inevitably arise during various fabrication and installation activities, from the inside of the newly installed boiler system. If left uncleaned, these materials can cause damage to the steam systems.
Steam blowing is a cleaning operation which uses steam to remove impurities from the system. The expansion and contraction of the steam piping also helps to loosen any impurities.
As steam blowing process produces a high noise level, we anticipate that the operation will be seen and/or heard by residents. Therefore, we have distributed notices of works and kept the neighbours informed through our MEB newsletter. In order to reduce the overall noise level during steam blowing, a temporary silencer will be installed at the outlet of the blow-out line. The silencer exit will be positioned so that the exhaust steam will not cause harm to the surrounding areas.
Three to four blow-out cycles will be carried out per day, lasting 4-7minutes, over a period of 14 working days, between 8am – 6pm.
Noise monitoring and readings at sensitive receptor locations will be carried out at proposed outlets during the commissioning in accordance with our Site Noise Monitoring Programme and SEPA’s guidance. To further control anticipated environmental impacts, steam blowout activities will be carried out under strict guidance and observation from our contractors, the local authority and SEPA representatives.
24th September: Construction Update
Despite the challenging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are grateful to all our contractors and sub-contractors for their works and efforts to ensure that the government approved measures which we put forward to mitigate the risk of the spread of the virus are being effected.
Total man-hours worked to the end of August is 734,979 with no reportable lost time due to accidents during this period.
The main activities being undertaken are:
- External works including the southern boundary capping of the sheet piling with a concrete encasement which is almost complete.
- Admin building fit-out which is nearing completion.
- Assembly of the water-steam-cycle, which is nearing completion with the insulation and the cladding scope progressing well.
- Pressure testing of systems, being 90% complete.
We have passed, or are soon to pass, some important milestones:
- Cold commissioning has commenced.
- Power has been energised to various pieces of plant equipment e.g. boiler feedwater pumps and compressors driers.
- First heating of the boiler with oil is currently planned to start at the end of September.
- Hot commissioning is planned to start in mid-October.
- First delivery of waste planned to start in mid-November.
- First heating of the boiler with waste is currently planned for the last few weeks of November.
3rd September 2020: Construction Update – Fire Alarm Testing Notice, 7th Monday – 9th September 2020
We are now approaching a stage of construction where we are carrying out commissioning works i.e scheduling, testing, adjusting, and verifying all installations in our newly built facility to ensure that it will optimally operate as a fully functional system in line with MEB, Dundee City and Angus Councils Project Requirements. Thus, from Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th September, we will be carrying out Fire Alarm testing for approximately 4hrs per day between 8am – 6pm, to test each floor in the boiler house and admin block.
As with all our construction activities, we aim to carry out these works as considerately as possible however, please be advised that the exercise will be noisy, and, we anticipate that homesteads and offices near our facility might hear it. We apologise for any inconveniences this may cause.
If you have any queries about construction or other aspects of the project, please do not hesitate to contact our Community Liaison Manager on 07966 216 041 or email mimi.mwasame@mvvuk.co.uk.
24th July 2020: Visit and education update
Our usual offer of site tours and waste education have been on hold since March. We took the decision early on to shield our key operational staff and lower the risk of infection by stopping all non-essential visitors to site. Our key operational staff, like the NHS and other sectors, have remained in work and ensured the safe and continuing treatment of residual waste for Dundee City and Angus Councils; we are grateful to them for their hard work throughout what has been a difficult and challenging time.
As schools start to welcome students back, we are looking at how we can safely resume our work to support waste minimisation messages on behalf of the councils we serve. Our Community Liaison Manager is available to come into schools from September, providing both the school and MVV have adequate risk assessments and appropriate measures in place to minimise any risk of infection.
We are taking tentative bookings for visits from November, again with appropriate risk assessments in place; these will be subject to change if government guidelines or local infection rates suggest there is an increased risk.
22nd June 2020 - Developing Young Workforce Dundee and Angus Recognition Awards 2020
We were pleasantly surprised in being nominated in the Business category by Gordon Dunn, Technical Teacher at Monifieth High School, for our work in driving forward the aims and objectives of Developing the Young Workforce in Dundee and Angus. As an organisation, we are proud to see our efforts in educating, supporting, and engaging with local schools, community and businesses on waste management and energy recovery are bearing positive impacts.
30th April 2020 - Construction Progress
Despite the impact of the current global crisis caused by COVID-19 on the construction of our new Energy from Waste facility, we are progressing in line with the UK Government’s guidelines on observing social distancing and other measures within the construction industry. Only work that can comply with these guidelines is ongoing in accordance with UK Government guidelines and the situation is being closely monitored. Please click here to see the most recent construction progress video.
29th April 2020 - Plans to keep the existing facility operating
We are very pleased that, with the help of our skilled and dedicated workforce, we have managed to improve the performance and reliability of the 20-year-old Baldovie Energy from Waste facility and we are confident that it can continue to operate for a further 10 years without any adverse impact on the local community or the environment in general.
With the planned ban of the landfilling of biodegradable residual waste in Scotland, and the shortage of facilities to treat this waste, we’ve sought permission from Dundee City Council and SEPA to continue to operate the existing facility alongside the new facility once the latter is completed. This will allow us to generate more jobs on our site and divert more residual waste from landfill in the region thus supporting the Scottish Governments target to achieve Zero Waste to Landfill.
We will keep you appraised of progress through our latest news section. Please visit our planning and permitting section if you are interested to view the environmental variation and planning documents.
15th March 2020 - Stop press. MVV Environment Baldovie wins safety awards.
The Baldovie team of Ruhul Miah, Michael Grant and Nils Knapp, ably led by Gregor McGhee, were awarded the Stevenson Shield and the runner up in the Development Through Education Award of The Safety Groups UK Annual Health and Safety Awards 2020 in London.
Congratulations to them all; they have worked hard for this and deserve the recognition that comes with these.
February 2020 - Facility Visits
We had a successful month with facility visits from Rosebank Primary School, Forthill Eco group Primary 3, 4 and 5 pupils, members of the Institution of Civil Engineers: Dundee Chapter, Eastern Primary School, employees of Zero Waste Scotland and Keptie Friends. The Community Liaison Manager attended an inspirational event at Fintry Primary School where she spoke to over 60 pupils.
February 2020 - Facility Visits
30th January 2020 - Meet the Buyer Event – Best Invercarse Hotel
We had a successful event with over 80 organisations who came to the breakfast meeting and 48 one to one appointments. See here photos from the event.
Meet the Buyer Event 2020
27th January 2020 - Application for the £5,000 Challenge Fund is now open
MVV Environment Baldovie Limited is contracted to Dundee City and Angus Councils to manage their non-recyclable waste. We have taken over the operation of the existing facility in Baldovie while we build a modern Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power (EfW CHP) Facility next door.
As part of our community engagement programme, we want to fund construction and engineering related projects within an educational context. Therefore, we are delighted to invite primary and secondary schools in the Dundee and Angus areas to apply for this funding.
The full Challenge Fund criteria, guidance and application forms can be downloaded from the links and downloads section or requested from our Community Liaison Manager, Mimi Mwasame, mimi.mwasame@mvvuk.co.uk. The deadline for applications is 27th April 2020.
We also welcome visits to our EfW facility where over 370 lorries deliver waste every week which is then burnt at temperatures of more than 1000°C to generate renewable energy in the form of electricity. A visit to our facility will provide an insight into how energy recovery from waste is environmentally friendly, reduces the volume of waste by 90 percent and prevents it from going to landfill. These visits are free of charge.
Please feel free to contact our Community Liaison Manager if you have any queries or suggestions of how you would like to engage with us.
17th January 2020 - MVV Environment Baldovie ‘Meet the Buyer’ event!
Supported by Dundee City and Angus Councils, we are holding a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event on 30th January 2020 from 8am – 11am at the Best Western Invercarse Hotel, 137 Perth Road, Dundee, DD2 1PG.
The event has been organised in order to create awareness and engage with local suppliers of goods and services who might be interested in tendering for a variety of opportunities. We will be looking for companies to provide: electrical inspection and testing, condition monitoring, scaffolding, industrial office and online cleaning, confined space rescue service, mechanical services (fitting), coded welding, oiling and greasing, instrument calibration, boiler water treatment, rope access, and the supply of industrial goods, products and materials for our Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power facility on Forties Road, Dundee.
We have been operating the existing facility in Baldovie since 2017. We are contracted to process Dundee City’s and Angus Council’s waste under a long-term contract, using the new facility currently nearing completion, and, with the existing facility potentially continuing to operate alongside.
For a more detailed explanation on the scope of goods and services and how to register for the event, please visit the Tenders section on our Baldovie EfW CHP Facility page or contact either Alison Duncan, alison.duncan@mvvuk.co.uk, Mimi Mwasame, mimi.mwasame@mvvuk.co.uk or Tel 01382 483600 / 07966 995 526.
Press queries may be directed to Paul Carey, Managing Director, on 07768 842 715
13th January 2020 - Work Placement and Internship
If you are 15 years old and above, come and join MVV Environment Baldovie (MEB) on a work experience placement and take a bold first step towards your future career.
Become part of our team for one week or three months and get practical experience that will help you really stand out.
Whether you’re at school, college or university, you’ll and a work experience placement that fits your goals. Whichever option you choose, you’ll have the chance to discover new skills, forge new connections and access expert guidance that will help you shape your career.
Join us for up to three months and discover what it’s really like to work in an Energy from Waste facility.
We are looking for individuals passionate and interested in:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Electrical, Control & Instrumentation Engineering (EC&I)
- Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)
- Environmental Science
If you require further information please feel free to contact our Community Liaison Manager, Mimi Mwasame, mimi.mwasame@mvvuk.co.uk.
Click here for more information.
21st November 2019 - Boiler stamping Ceremony
Following on from our successful hydrostatic pressure test which was conducted on the boiler and the feedwater pipework as a confirmation of the strength of the boiler to withstand the required pressure for optimal risk free operation, MEB and SBG and all its sub-contractors celebrated with the boiler stamping ceremony led by the MEB Managing Director Mr Paul Carey and the SBG Director Dr. Siegfried M. Scholz.
Boiler stamping Ceremony
8th November 2019 – Meet Your Waste
CHRISTMAS IS COMING
THE GOOSE IS LOOKING CHASTE
THINK ABOUT YOUR WRAPPING, AND,
MEET YOUR WASTE
Have you ever wondered what happens to the rubbish in your black bin bags? Do you know the 4 Rs of waste management i.e. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover? What is Energy from Waste?
Ahead of the Christmas rush, in early December, we will be hosting a series of 1-hour long tours of our Energy from Waste facility for local businesses and members of the community. Dubbed ‘Meet Your Waste’, the tours are in line with our ethos to educate the community about energy recovery as a sustainable alternative to landfill, creating awareness on the amount of rubbish produced daily in Angus and Dundee, and providing an alternative employee activity for companies prior to Christmas shopping festivities.
Thus, we would like to welcome you, your colleagues, friends and family for a brief but knowledge-packed tour of our facility on Forties Road, Dundee. These visits are free of charge.
There is an absolute maximum of 12 people per site tour, but larger groups can be split up or alternatively you may book more than one visit if interest exceeds this.
Haste and meet your waste before you make more waste by booking your free slot on Eventbrite page below:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-your-waste-tickets-75706360763
16th October 2019 - Boiler Pressure Test a massive success!
On the 8th October, the all-important pressure test was conducted on the boiler and feedwater pipework for our new facility. This is a real milestone in the construction process and confirms the strength of the boiler to withstand the necessary pressure for risk-free operation.
The pressure test was successfully completed during a 6 - hour period in the presence of TuV Nord (Notified Body), Standard Kessel Baumgarte (Boiler Manufacturer) and MVV teams. (Left to right; Krystian Blaszczyk (SEFAKO Wielding Engineer), Ulrich Buttchereit (SBG QA Manager), Vitus Dewenter (TuV Nord), Thomas Schaefer (MVV Technical Manager), Rhys William (MVV QA Manager), Kneeling; Georgios Apostolidis (SBG QA Engineer).
10th October 2019 - MEB Outage Contractor Stand down - World Mental Health Day
In recognition and support of the World Mental Health Day, contractors and staff at our Baldovie operational facility had a 10 minute stand down this morning. Gregor McGhee, QHSE manager, had this to say “Being mentally healthy doesn’t just mean that you don’t have a mental health problem. Everyone seems to have a story to tell when speaking to staff and contractors thus, we at MEB, are proud to support #itsgoodtottalk”.
2nd October - Plans to keep existing plant operating
MVV are very pleased that, with the help of the skilled and dedicated workforce, they have managed to improve the performance and reliability of the 20-year-old Baldovie Energy from Waste facility. With the upcoming ban on the landfilling of biodegradable waste in Scotland from 1 January 2021 and the shortage of facilities to treat this residual waste MVV are seeking permission from Dundee City Council and SEPA to continue to operate the existing facility alongside the new facility which is being built on Forties Road. To reassure DCC, SEPA and the local community that operating the two facilities in parallel will not pose any risks or problems, MVV have appointed consultants to assess the traffic, drainage and air quality implications of the combined operations and are investigating alternative odour management technologies.
We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of this proposal.
1st October –Boiler Hydrostatic Test (Pressure Test)
We are approaching another major milestone in the construction of our EfW plant, the boiler pressure test. This will be carried out on 8th October 2019.
A hydrostatic test is a way of testing pressure vessels such as pipelines, plumbing, gas cylinders, fuel tanks and boilers for strength and leaks, and is the last of many quality tests carried out so far on our boiler.
The boiler will be filled with cold water and raised to the specified test pressure (in our case 136 bar). The boiler’s integrity will be tested by shutting off the supply valve and observing whether there is a pressure loss. The complete test will take a day to complete.
This is an important part of the safety testing regime that will continue throughout the final stages of construction and into commissioning.
12th August 2019 - Tallest Structure in Dundee?
We have successfully erected our chimney! The MEB chimney stands tall at 90m. The first section was erected on Wednesday 7th August but unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and the second section went up on 8th August in the afternoon. This did not deter members of the Good Neighbours Group as we were delighted to host Councillor Christina Roberts, Yvonne Tosh and Garvie Jamieson, who came to sign the last chimney section on 9th August (click here for photos).
The final section was installed on 10th August amidst blue skies and calm winds. Is it the tallest free-standing structure in Dundee? Perhaps our community can tell us!
26th June 2019: Winners of the 2019 Challenge Fund
MVV are delighted to announce Braeview Academy, Harris Academy and Monifieth High School as the winners of the 2019 Challenge Fund. This fund aims at providing up to £5,000 to schools in the Dundee and Angus area for projects in the areas of engineering, construction and waste reduction.
This is what the judges had to say about the winning applications:
“Very clear and concise applications with detailed SMART objectives which outline projects with clear construction & engineering focus, hence meeting the brief. There are clear curricular links shown and aspirations to nurture ongoing interests & therefore having "legacy" effects from any funding award”.
“A worthwhile construction project that uses waste materials to build useful structures for the school. This would raise awareness of volume of plastic used, a very topical subject”.
A disbursement ceremony in form of a High Tea was held in our facility on Forties road and saw the winners presented with a cheque by our Managing Director Paul Carey.
2nd May 2019: Promoting health and safety at work
Following on from IWMD and as part of the LOcHER project, students from the local high school visited our operational and construction sites on Wednesday to test the health and safety knowledge of our staff and contractors. The students baked cakes with health and safety signs as decorations, but staff had to correctly identify the symbols to earn their cake!
29th April 2019: Learning Occupational Health by Experiencing Risks (LOcHER) Project
MEB is only the second company in the UK to undertake a LOcHER project outside of an educational establishment; this initiative originated within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and provides students and apprentices with the opportunity to identify health and safety risks in their area of study. We are proud to uphold the virtue that Health and safety should not be a responsibility assigned to a particular individual or part of an organisation, but an integral part of everyone’s role.
28th April 2019: International Workers’ Memorial Day
MVV is proud to support International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD); remembering those who have lost their lives in work-related incidents and striving to make the workplace a safer environment for everyone. Our QHSE Manager in Dundee, Gregor McGhee, has organised a full week of activities on site – more information to follow - and our Plymouth Facility lit up purple on Sunday 28th April to mark the day.
23rd April 2019 – Challenge Fund
In conjunction with Dundee City and Angus Councils, MVV are delighted to announce that applications are now open the 2019 Challenge Fund for primary and secondary schools within the locality. The fund will provide financial support for schools to undertake projects related to engineering, construction and waste reduction within an educational background. Click here for the full criteria and application form or for more information please contact Mimi Mwasame, mimi.mwasame@mvvuk.co.uk.
The deadline for applications is 3rd June 2019.
29th March 2019: Community Tree Planting Event
We were delighted to host 20 members of the local community who joined us for the Tree Planting Event on 29th March. This event was aimed at enhancing the community’s role and stewardship of the trees we have planted alongside the Dighty.
Over the past few weeks, we undertook extensive flood mitigation works along the south bank of the Dighty to contain any excess water in the event of heavy rainfall, thus reducing the risk of flooding to our neighbours’ houses and business premises.
The design for the works was agreed with Dundee City Council as owner of the land. The calculations for excavation and storage of the material were checked by both the City Council and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). All the excavated material was mounded on the site above the predicted maximum 1 in 200 years plus climate change flood level, so no material had to be moved from the site.
In line with our values of sustainability and environment protection, we have planted over 5000 indigenous trees and shrubs along the Dighty that will enhance and support its ecosystem.
27th February 2019: Inaugural Dundee and Angus Expo
Together with our EPC Contractor SBG, we held a joint stand at the Inaugural Dundee and Angus Expo. It was a well-attended event with local businesses and organisations showcasing their products and services. The event provided us with a platform to meet with a lot of businesses and individuals who were keen to engage with us in the construction of the new EfW facility as well as creating awareness about EfW in general. Our picture shows Rob Bramhill (SBG) and Mimi Mwasame, our Local Liaison Officer, representing the project.
