As part of the Climate Change Action Plan the LCCA is working on a number of waste related projects. The Renewable Gases and Liquid Fuels from Waste Strategy in the London Climate Change Action Plan is being implemented by the LCCA. Waste and biomass can be converted into renewable energy far more efficiently with much lower emissions utilising anaerobic digestion and gasification/pyrolysis than with incineration.Renewable gases and liquid fuels from waste and biomass are also hydrogen rich fuels so will also contribute towards the longer term renewable hydrogen goals of London. Significant reductions in waste transport emissions can also be achieved and renewable gases and liquid fuels can be easily transported and stored.

The first stage of this strategy was for the LCCA to let a contract with London Remade in 2007 to identify and to bring to financial close at least one renewable gases/liquid fuels from waste project by summer 2008. Four suitable projects have so far been identified under this contract and the LCCA is also working separately on another renewable gases and liquid fuels from waste project with the Park Royal Partnership that may also reach financial close in 2008.

The LCCA is also investigating plasma arc gasification which is a system that combines plasma arc technology which has been around since the 1960’s with fluidized bed gasification which has been around since the 1980’s. The combination of the two technologies produces a very clean low carbon syngas (<13%) which taken together with reductions in CO2 emissions from displaced disposal transport, recycling and other displaced emissions potentially provides for a resultant negative carbon footprint process. The technology (with gas engine) has industry leading emissions reductions with substantially lower emissions than specified in the Waste Emissions Directive, including undetectable dioxins/furans.