Incinerator could burn 200k tonnes of waste every year
ANEW incinerator which would burn up to 200,000 tonnes of waste a year is being planned in Cardiff. The proposed £150m energy plant would be based in Newlands Road near Wentloog Corporate Park in the east of the capital.
The incinerator, which would produce 15MWs of electricity, which is enough to power up to 30,000 homes, would be based close to the Shirenewton travellers’ site and also across the railway line from Trow
bridge.
It would target some of the 900,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial waste that Wales currently sends to landfill.
The new incinerator would not treat household black bag waste, which is burned by the Viridor plant in Cardiff Docks.
The plant, if approved by the Welsh Government, would mean 116 additional lorry journeys to or from the site every day.
Similar facilities have been met with strong opposition with groups raising concerns about the environmental impact and emissions.
Mor Hafren Bio Power, the company behind the proposed incinerator, said it would adhere to strict standards from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which would decide whether to grant a licence to the plant.
The company said it would use the latest technologies to filter out any emissions.
It is expected that a full planning application is submitted in the autumn, and a decision would be made in summer next year.
If approved, the incinerator would take around two years to build and would run for between 25 and 30 years.
A consultation and public exhibitions will be held for people to see the proposals before a planning application is submitted.
Pete Lawrence, project development manager at Mor Hafren Bio Power, said the new incinerator would help towards the Welsh Government’s policy of zero waste going to landfill by 2050.
He said: “While new technologies are being developed to enable this zero waste target to be achieved, the Welsh Government recognises that efficient energy from waste facilities will have a role to play. We see our proposed facility as a transitional technology helping to achieve these targets by diverting up to 200,000 tonnes per annum from landfill for the next 25 to 30 years.
“Although Wales has some of the best household recycling rates in Europe, there is still 1.6million tonnes of residual waste left over after recycling, the vast majority of which is still being sent to landfill.
“Our focus is on targeting some of the 900,000 tonnes of residual commercial and industrial waste generated each year.
“Currently a lot of waste in Wales is sent straight to landfill, transported to facilities in England for further treatment, or exported to EU countries for use as refuse derived fuel due to lack of facilities in Wales.
“With Brexit looming, exporting this material to the EU is bound to carry substantial tariffs, increasing costs for Welsh businesses. So, providing a local solution will be seen by many businesses as a far better solution.”
The new incinerator would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with deliveries to and from the site taking place from Monday to Saturday.
It is expected most of the waste for the facility would come from Cardiff, Newport, Swansea and surrounding areas. The developer of the plant said it would be “very unlikely” the waste would come from any further afield.
The facility would burn waste at around 850C.
Mor Hafren Bio Power insisted emissions would be covered by strict regulations, but admitted the plant would burn materials such as particulates, oxides of nitrogen and acidic gasses.
The company said it is in discussions with NRW about the exact emissions from the plant and will release this information as part of the planning and consultation processes. It added it is also currently drawing up an environmental impact assessment on the proposed site.
The incinerator would be around one-and-a-half rugby pitches in length and have a chimney stack around 70 metres high.
A storage facility would also be built to keep the waste. Stores of up to four days worth of waste are typically built for incinerators of this size.
It would be 500metres from the traveller park and around quarter of a mile from Trowbridge.
The developer said it is interested in talking to businesses about setting up a district heating network which would help premises cut their energy bills.
Discussions are also ongoing to get the 15MW of electricity connected up to the National Grid.
Public consultations will be held in early September. More details are available at www.morhafrenbiopower.co.uk.