Power plant · Bedford, England, United Kingdom
Rookery South
Rookery South is a power plant in Bedford, England, United Kingdom, with 65 MW of capacity, operated by Veolia, Covanta and Covanta Rookery South Limited.
Facts
Every value links to its source, and to the source's own record where it has one. Licences and last-checked dates are per row.
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Bedford (coordinates), England | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Location | Central Bedfordshire (coordinates), England (Eastern) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Address | Rookery South, a former brick clay pit, near Stewartby, MK43 9LJ | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Address | Rookery South Pit, Near Stewartby, Bedfordshire | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Status | Operating (operational) | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Status | Permitted (post-decision, granted) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Start year | 2022 | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Permit date | 13 Oct 2011 (permit EN010011, Planning Act 2008 development consent, issued by The Planning Inspectorate - National Infrastructure) | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Permit date | 13 Oct 2011 (permit EN010011, Planning Act 2008 development consent, issued by Secretary of State) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Application date | 5 Aug 2010 (reference EN010011, planning authority The Planning Inspectorate - National Infrastructure) | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Application date | 5 Aug 2010 (reference EN010011, planning authority The Planning Inspectorate) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Decision date | 13 Oct 2011 (granted, reference EN010011, planning authority The Planning Inspectorate - National Infrastructure) | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Decision date | 13 Oct 2011 (granted, reference EN010011, planning authority The Planning Inspectorate) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Operator | Veolia (Veolia/Covanta) | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Operator | Covanta (Veolia/Covanta) | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Operator | Covanta Rookery South Limited (applicant) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Capacity | 65 MW | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Capacity | 65 MW (description) | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Technology | EfW Incineration | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Technology | EfW Incineration | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Coordinates | 52.0764, -0.5236 | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
Research on this power plant and its operator.Who owns it up to the parent company, its grid connection and planning status, and an introduction to the operator.
Request researchLatest events
Dated events about this power plant from official notices and registers, newest first. All recent changes.
- Commissioned
- Permit granted (planning authority The Planning Inspectorate - National Infrastructure, reference EN010011)
- Permit granted (planning authority The Planning Inspectorate, reference EN010011) · source
- Permit applied for (planning authority The Planning Inspectorate, reference EN010011) · source
- Permit applied for (planning authority The Planning Inspectorate - National Infrastructure, reference EN010011)
Also recorded as
2 sources record Rookery South; this page joins their facts, each with its own source. Links to any of the records lead here. How records are matched.
| Name in the source | Identifier | Source | Matched on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookery South | asset:repd:979 | DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) | — |
| Rookery South Energy from Waste Generating Station | asset:pins-nsip:en010011 | Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects | Same planning reference |
How it compares
Rookery South is the 124th-largest of 3,430 power plants in England and the 248th-largest of 5,050 in the United Kingdom by capacity; its 65 MW is <0.1% of the 115,622 MW we hold for the United Kingdom. Ranks and totals cover the power plants in our data that report their capacity, not every one in existence. Power plants planned, permitted or under construction are ranked apart.
| Within | Rank | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 124th of 3,430 | 71,965 MW | <0.1% |
| United Kingdom | 248th of 5,050 | 115,622 MW | <0.1% |
| All power plants in our data | 1,537th of 12,032 | 1,190,447 MW | <0.1% |
Timeline
Dated facts about this power plant from its sources, oldest first.
- Started operating
Nearby
Within 50 km of this power plant: 18 data centers, 11 grid connections (4 operating, 40.3 MW) and 8 substations, measured from the coordinates in the facts above. The table shows the nearest 9, up to 3 per kind.
| Name | Kind | Size | Status | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulsant Milton Keynes SE-1 | Data center | — | — | 16 km |
| Data center, England (OSM way 460010263) | Data center | — | — | 16 km |
| Data center, Dunstable (OSM way 526426719) | Data center | — | — | 20 km |
| East Claydon GSP | Substation | — | — | 31 km |
| Pembridge Farm grid connection | Grid connection | 131 MW | Planned | 40 km |
| Bicester 49.9MW - PV grid connection | Grid connection | 44 MW | Planned | 42 km |
| Shelswell Solar Park grid connection | Grid connection | 4.75 MW | Operating | 43 km |
| Cottisford Primary | Substation | — | — | 44 km |
| Cokes Lane Primary | Substation | — | — | 46 km |
Operators and place
More from Veolia
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- Alton Materials Recovery Facility33 MW
- Lancaster West Business Park30 MW
- Tyseley ERF30 MW
- New Barnfield ERF30 MW
- Cleanaway Project 327.8 MW · permitted
- Four Ashes EfW23 MW
Other power plants in England
- Walpole Flexible Generation Project2,000 MW
- Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind Farm1,500 MW
- Hornsea 2 - Optimus and Breesea1,320 MW
- Hornsea 1 - Heron & Njord1,218 MW
- Atlantic Array One - Bristol Channel Zone1,200 MW
- Five Estuaries - Wind Farm1,080 MW
- Rugeley Power Plant Conversion1,000 MW
- Teesworks Battery Storage Project1,000 MW
Data on this page
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2026). EIA-860 / 860M / 923, Public domain.
- JRC Open Power Plants Database (JRC-PPDB-OPEN), European Commission, Joint Research Centre. JRC Open Power Plants Database (JRC-PPDB-OPEN), CC BY 4.0.
- Bundesnetzagentur, Marktstammdatenregister. Marktstammdatenregister, DL-DE-BY-2.0.
- Dutch power station owners' and operators' pages. Dutch power station owners' and operators' pages, Facts only, each linked to its page.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors. OpenStreetMap data centers, ODbL 1.0.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Planning Inspectorate: National Infrastructure Projects, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- RVO SDE(+)(+) projecten in beheer and SDE viewer. RVO SDE(+)(+) projecten in beheer and SDE viewer, Free reuse, no attribution required.
- SSEN Distribution. SSEN Distribution data portal, CC BY 4.0.