Information for Gladsmuir Resource Recovery (previously "Levenseat ACT"), Levenseat Waste Management Site, By Forth, Lanark
Status: ExistingPlanning Region: Scotland
Planning Sub-Region: South Lanarkshire
Operator: Gladsmuir Operations Limited / Cobalt Energy / Beaverbrook Energy (taking over from Levenseat Renewable Energy Ltd)
Capacity: 131,000
Campaign Group(s): Green Alternatives to Incineration in Scotland (GAINS)
Notes: Gasification-type incinerator granted planning permission by West Lothian Council in June 2013 (ref. LIVE/0424/FUL/13), with original consent granted in December 2010 (ref. 0528/FUL/10). Permit application submitted in December 2014 for a "fluidised bed close-coupled gasification plant" to treat RDF, a variation on the previous permit granted in July 2009 that seemingly proposed to use the same technology that failed in Dargaval (Source) [See public register for permit PPC/A/1150156]. Received £28m of funding from the GIB in March 2015 [Source]. In April 2020 the operator stated that "Hot commissioning is going well and we expect to finish by the end of the year [i.e. 2020]". A spokesperson for BIG stated in February 2022 that: "A defect was identified with the refractory lining, with replacement works being completed in December 2021". In May 2023 it was reported that Outotec was no longer part of the project and that LREL would be bringing operations in-house [Source]. In May 2025 PWC announced that "It is with deep regret that 52 of the 89 employees [at Levenseat Renewable Energy] had to be made redundant immediately on appointment" and that "The administrators will retain some employees to support in winding down operations and clean-up of waste materials on site" [Source]. STV reported that: "In recent years, the company has experienced outages due to machine failures which required significant funding to fix" but that the company was unable to "secure crucial investments" in advance of the June 2025 debt repayment deadline [Source]. LREL is not to be confused with Levenseat Resource Management (LRM) which has assured investors and employees that things are "business as usual" for their operations and they have not entered administraiton [Source]. In July 2025 it was announced that Cobalt Energy would be taking over operation and maintenance of the plant [Source]. See public register for permit documents. (Entry updated 2025-07-31)
APR Summary 2025
Details taken or derived from the Annual Performance Report submitted by the operator
Permit: PPC-A-1150156
| Entry | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Plant Size TPA | 131,000.00 | Gladsmuir Resource Recovery |
| Plant Size MWth | 46.00 | |
| Plant Size MWe | 11.00 | |
| Power Generated Year Total | 10,744.93 | |
| Power Generated kWh per tonne | 904.03 | |
| Power Exported Year Total | 7,925.52 | |
| Power Exported kWh per tonne | 666.81 | |
| Power Imported Year Total | 3,166.39 | |
| Power Imported kWh per tonne | 266.40 | |
| Parasitic Load Year Total | 0.43 | |
| Thermal Energy Exported Year Total | 0.00 | |
| Total Waste Received Year Total | 21,361.02 | |
| Total Waste Combusted Year Total | 11,885.65 | Household / Local Authority (74.73%) |
| NCV Year Total | 12.84 | |
| Permit Breaches Year Total | 8.00 | |
| Annual CO2 Mass | 15,240.10 | CEMS data. |
| Annual CO2 Mass Per Tonne | 1.28 | |
| Annual CO2 Mass Per Mwh | 1.92 | |
| Annual N2O Mass | 0.69 | CEMS data. |
| Total CO2 N2O | 15,421.84 | |
| Biogenic CO2 Percentage | 0.56 | Biomass Content by CV (Selective Dissolution) - from RDF samples. |
| Biogenic Percentage NCV | 0.56 | Biomass Content by CV (Selective Dissolution) - from RDF samples. |
Entry on WikiWaste:
https://wikiwaste.org.uk/index.php/Levenseat_EfWAnnual Peformance Report files:
103-AnnualPeformanceReport-2019.pdfAnnual Performance Report files:
103-AnnualPerformanceReport-2021.xlsx103-AnnualPerformanceReport-2022.xlsx
103-AnnualPerformanceReport-2023.xlsm
103-AnnualPerformanceReport-2025.xlsm
Permit files:
103-Permit-2016.pdfPermit Variation files:
103-PermitVariation-2020.pdf103-PermitVariation-2020a.pdf
103-PermitVariation-2023.pdf
103-PermitVariation-2025.pdf
Pollution Inventory Return files:
103-PollutionInventoryReturn-2025-Explanation.pdf103-PollutionInventoryReturn-2025-v2.xlsx
Environment Agency Compliance Assessment Reports
Click here to see the incinerator compliance documents for existing English incineratorsStandard notice:
UKWIN (and therefore the UKWIN map) focuses on Municipal Waste Incinerators, whereas our colleagues at Biofuelwatch focus on biomass projects. If you are interested in biomass incinerators (including waste wood plants) over 20MW then please see the Biofuelwatch map of UK Biomass Power Stations. Those concerned about biomass plants, including waste wood plants, should email Biofuelwatch at biofuelwatch[at]gmail.com.Please be aware: There is always room for improvement, so please send updates to coordinator@ukwin.org.uk. Existing Incinerator means a facility that is operational or under construction/commissioning. A Potential Incinerator is a facility where there is a proposal for an incinerator (e.g. planning application or planning consent) or other reason to believe an incinerator might be built/proposed in the future. A Prevented Incinerator is something which used to be a proposal or expected incinerator which we do not believe is currently being progressed (e.g. because the project was cancelled, planning permission refused, or years have gone by since the permission was granted without any progress) - in some cases a facility marked as prevented is being progressed without us being aware or is subsequently revived. Capacity is usually the permitted or maximum advertised capacity of the facility.