Morristown, N.J.-based waste and energy firm Covanta Holding Corp. has entered into a strategic partnership with the Green Investment Group Ltd., a subsidiary of Macquarie Group Ltd., to develop, fund and own energy-from-waste (EfW) projects in both Ireland and the UK.

"I am very excited about this strategic arrangement with a committed partner that brings substantial in-market expertise, relationships and resources, and has a tremendous track record of sourcing, developing and executing large-scale renewable infrastructure projects,” said Covanta President and CEO Stephen Jones in a statement. “Green Investment Group and Covanta have highly complementary skills, making this a powerful partnership to execute a robust combined pipeline of opportunities. Since I joined Covanta, one of my primary goals has been to drive successful international development and meaningful growth on a consistent and repeatable basis, and this partnership brings that goal to reality."

The partnership will be structured as a 50/50 joint venture, creating a platform to develop and invest in the combined project pipelines of the partners as well as to pursue new opportunities for EfW project development or acquisitions.

"We are delighted to have signed a partnership agreement with Covanta, a world-leading owner and operator of waste-to-energy facilities,” said Edward Northam, head of Green Investment Group in Europe, in a statement. “The projects developed under the partnership will extract energy from residual waste that would otherwise be lost to landfill, avoiding harmful methane emissions. We are also pleased to announce our first investment in the Republic of Ireland. Investing in Covanta's landmark Dublin project is the first step in realizing the potential of the partnership. As it enters its first full year of operations in 2018, the state-of-the-art facility will help ensure Ireland continues to meet its landfill diversion targets."

As the initial step in the partnership, Green Investment Group will invest in Covanta's Dublin plant through the joint venture, with proceeds from this transaction fully funding Covanta's anticipated equity requirements for all of the advanced projects in the joint venture’s combined UK pipeline.