The general location of the residual waste facility and the waste transfer and disposal infrastructure required to support the treatment plant(s) also need to be considered and assumptions clarified prior to the options appraisal.
The Authority will have to assess how many sites they need (served as necessary by transfer facilities). The outcome will depend on:
• The availability of sites;
• The suitability of sites (e.g. potential for Combined Heat and Power (CHP), grid connections, proximity to housing etc);
• The distribution of waste within the Authority area;
• The transport (road/rail/water) network connecting sites;
• The potential environmental impacts; and
• The potential cost impacts.
In preparing for the submission of a PFI OBC the Authority should take steps to acquire the relevant site(s). If this process has not been finalised when the options appraisal is undertaken then a reasonable assumption should be made about the location and the size of the site.
Once the Authority has determined the right capacity and the site for the Reference Project facility then it can move on to the next step in the process, i.e. setting the objectives of the exercise.