Outcry over bid for city’s second waste incinerator
THE Government has sparked outrage after launching a fundraising bid for a second waste incinerator in Cardiff.
Trade Secretary Liam Fox has said he wants to attract £100m for a new wasteto-energy plant in Cardiff by a company called CoGen.
The facility would see even more lorries bringing waste into the city and the plans come after the giant Viridor waste incinerator in the city area of Splott was expanded despite hundreds of objections.
Dozens of residents submitted objections to the Viridor plans, with one petitioner dubbing Cardiff the “waste capital of Europe”.
Environmental campaigner and member of Friends of the Earth Barry & Vale Max Wallis said: “Cardiff evidently has no need for a further incinerator, spreading polluting emissions as sometimes smelt and frequently visible in Viridor’s plume. Cardiff council needs to reject the application, using the proximity principle.”
There are also plans for a wood-chip incinerator in Cardiff to generate power, meaning there could be three giant incinerators in the same part of the city.
Mr Wallis said he hoped the opposition to the proposal would lead CoGen to abandon Wales.
CoGen uses a technology called “gasification” in which the waste is turned into a gas, which is then burned to generate power. It has facilities in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, Cheshire and Dartmoor.
In a statement on CoGen’s website in October 2016 it said the plant would have a 15MW capacity and would be able to power around 15,000 homes and businesses in the area. It adds that they plan to process around 150,000 tonnes of waste per year.
In 2016 CoGen said construction was expected to begin in 2018, with the plant opening in 2020.
It is not yet known where the site would be located in Cardiff.
Frank Armijo, vice-president of Lockheed Martin Energy, which is working with CoGen on the project, said in 2016: “This project will make a substantial contribution to Cardiff and will further showcase how bioenergy technologies can help reduce waste, decrease pollution and generate clean, renewable energy.”
According to the UK Government, the project will generate electricity sold into the grid under a “long-term power purchase agreement” with another party. It adds that a contractor has been selected to build the plant and CoGen has entered into an option for a 25-year lease of the facility site.
The Government said: “An independent technical feasibility assessment has been undertaken and confirms the project has been designed and scoped appropriately to attract the required level of investment.”
A Cardiff council spokesman said: “The CoGen project would be a matter for the local planning authority to consider, once a formal planning application has been received.
“All applications are considered on their planning merits, having regard to national and local policy.”
CoGen have been approached for further information.