A CONTROVERSIAL energy-from-waste incinerator scheme that could power up to 40,000 households has attracted a major investment from a bank, whose mission is to accelerate the UK’s transition to a greener economy.

The £33.1m move by the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) follows the climax last month of a ten-year battle over the £1.4bn waste scheme – involving an incinerator the size of Wembley Stadium – when North Yorkshire county councillors gave final approval to the plan.

More than 400 jobs are expected to be created during the construction process and an additional 70 when Allerton Waste Recovery Park, near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, becomes operational.

The bank said it decided to plough the money into the plant after being impressed with the scheme's environmental credentials.

The plant, which campaigners had condemned as a "huge financial gamble", will divert more than seven million tonnes of waste from landfill over its 25-year lifetime, recover more than 1.5 million tonnes of recyclable materials and generate 203GWh of electricity per year.

While protesters had claimed the scheme had been superseded by more modern, cost-efficient or environmentally-friendly waste disposal methods, a GIB spokesman described the the plant as advanced and original.

County councillor Gareth Dadd said the investment from the not-for-profit bank validated the authority's decision to pursue the scheme, days after it had emerged £8m had been shaved off its total cost due to improved exchange rates.

The bank said the scheme would enable value to be recovered from almost every aspect of the council’s waste.

It will feature a mechanical treatment facility that will recover metal, paper and plastic for recycling alongside an on-site anaerobic digestion plant to treat organic waste, which will generate around 8 GWh of renewable electricity per year.

The energy-from-waste facility will produce steam to feed an electricity generating turbine, generating enough electricity to supply the equivalent of more than 40,000 homes.

Shaun Kingsbury, GIB chief executive, said: “This innovative project is a best-in-class example of how local authorities can improve recycling and generate significant amounts of renewable power from household waste.

"GIB is proud of its track record supporting innovation in the waste and recycling sector and particularly pleased that this impressive facility is the first to feature the full complement of waste treatments and new technologies.”