Incinerator gears up to launch by end of year
THE owners of Barry’s incinerator expect the facility to be fully up and running by the end of the year amid fresh concerns over pollution in the area.
The Biomass UK No2 plant in Barry Docks is currently being tested before it is launched.
Now a time-scale for when the site will be fully operational has been announced.
It follows complaints of “black smoke” coming from the site during the operational tests.
Campaigners are giving out clean air kits to schools in Barry and the Vale of Glamorgan council is also installing air quality monitors around the incinerator site.
The plant’s operator, a fund of private donors managed by Aviva Investors, has said all the incinerator’s emissions are safe for the atmosphere.
Beautiful Barry, supported by the Docks Incinerator Action Group, has bought 20 clean air kits from Friends Of The Earth, and said several schools in Barry have already accepted them.
The group, which opposes the Barry incinerator, said: “The clean air kits effectively monitor nitrogen dioxide levels and will provide an insight into the quality of air that our future generations are breathing.
“The clean air kits are simple to use and can easily be incorporated into a curriculum activity. Several schools in Barry have already accepted the donation of the clean air kits.”
Vale of Glamorgan council will install two air quality monitors near the site within the next month following complaints about acrid black smoke from the site.
A council spokeswoman said: “The council has recently taken delivery of two solar powered AQ Mesh air quality monitors and these are shortly to be installed on lamp columns; one in Dock View Road and the other in close proximity to Holton Road School.
“The monitors will assess air quality 24 hours per day feeding back data wirelessly to our offices in 15-minute intervals.
“Air quality data will then be made available to members of the public via the Shared Regulatory Services website. Barring no unforeseen technical issues it is envisaged that these units will be fully operational, providing publicly available air quality monitoring data within the next four weeks.”
The council has previously said it has not seen any evidence to suggest any of the plant’s emissions are a concern for the public’s health.
Aviva Investors said: “The Barry biomass project is a renewable energy plant that uses gasification, which is supported by the UK and Welsh governments, to generate electricity.
“The project is running to its planned schedule and we expect to be fully operational before the end of the year.”