Plans to turn waste gas at steelworks into fuel
PLANS are in place for a pilot project which will look at turning waste gases from the Tata steelworks in Port Talbot into a biofuel which could then be used in the aviation industry.
Neath Port Talbot Council is working with bioengineering company LanzaTech to develop a plan to deliver the pilot.
The local authority said that once fully operational the steelworks could generate 30 million gallons of biofuels for the aviation industry each year.
The plans are included in the council’s draft decarbonisation and renewable energy strategy.
Other plans could see the Cefn Coed Colliery Museum become the site of a minewater heat project which, if successful, could be used to heat “thousands of homes at low cost” across the county.
The council said preliminary discussions had taken place with the Cardiff School of Engineering to undertake a feasibility study on the practicality and viability of mine water heat recovery at Cefn Coed.
Its draft renewable strategy outlines plans for a zero-carbon visitor or activity centre at the museum which could become a gateway venue to the upper Neath Port Talbot valleys and the southern Brecon Beacons.
According to the strategy: “The visitor attraction will have the potential to become a demonstrator for energy self-sufficiency using alternative renewable and low carbon energy sources inclusive of heat recovery from the historic mine workings.”
The council is already looking at providing charging points across the county for electric vehicles and is also looking to commission a feasibility study to find a site to develop an electric vehicle charging park/hydrogen filling station.
Other projects in the strategy include
the Homes as Power Stations scheme which is one of the Swansea Bay City Deal projects that the local authority is leading on.
A pilot in Neath is under way to inform the project.
And the county is the base for the only demonstration area in Wales for FLEXIS (Flexible Integrated Energy Systems Project), a £24.5m research operation aimed at developing an energy research capability in Wales.
The council’s cabinet member for regeneration and sustainable development Annette Wingrave said: “Climate change is the number one global environmental challenge that we face.
“This strategy will be a blueprint for the council’s overall sustainability and carbon footprint reduction drive and it sets a proactive agenda for the council so that we can work in partnership with other public and private sector organisations as well as joining forces with local residents to deliver the step changes required.
“Neath Port Talbot has already established itself as a leading light when it comes to renewable energy generation and we have the potential to become a leader in alternative fuel production as well but there is still a lot more to do.
“As a council we remain determined to embrace the task ahead and help influence those areas of local life where we can make the most impact when it comes to decarbonisation and climate change.”
The strategy states that 77% of Neath Port Talbot’s electricity consumption is met by renewables.
Once the draft strategy has gone before cabinet it will be subject to a public consultation before being adopted.