Plan for gas fired power plant set for approval
MORE than 30 people have signed a petition against plans for a gas fuelled power plant at a Cynon Valley industrial estate – but the plans have been recommended for approval.
Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s planning committee will this week discuss Enersyst Ltd’s proposals for the Hirwaun Industrial Estate – to build a small power plant designed to generate electricity at peak times.
It will be located in the storage yard at the Pennant Walters Headquarters on the industrial estate, at Unit O.
It will have five gas fuelled turbines to generate electricity within a 57m by 31m compound. Each turbine would be in a container structure, each measuring 12m by 3.2m at 3.5m high.
The turbines would have a total capacity of 9.25 megawatts, and are proposed to connect to the gas network in the adjacent Main Avenue.
No one is planned to be manning the site on a permanent basis, with it being operated and controlled remotely and visited by a maintenance engineer once a month.
The nearest houses to the site are in Fairways, 201m away.
Eight letters of objection have been received by RCT council to the proposal, as well as a petition of 31 signatures.
Reasons for objections include noise levels of the turbines during day and night, that the facility’s operational hours are unclear, that air pollution will impact on residents’ health and well-bring and will affect a nearby reservoir, and that it will be an eye sore.
Other reasons include a potential for bad smells being emitted from the site, an increase in traf- fic in the local area and a lack of consultation with residents.
But, RCT council’s service director for planning has recommended the application for approval in a report.
It says: “The proposed gas fuelled power plant is to be located on an Industrial Estate which in principle is considered a suitable location for such development. The main issue in considering this application is the potential for the power plant to emit high levels of noise when it is operating, and the impact on residents living around the edges of the Industrial Estate.
“Following amendments to the scheme, the revised Sound Assessment submitted has concluded that the noise levels have a low impact on residential properties, both in the day and at night.”
Planning committee members will discuss the application at a meeting on Thursday, October 6.