Power plant plan approved for village site
AWEST Lancashire village is to house an electricity-generating plant which will swing into action during periods of high demand.
Lancashire County Council’s development control committee has given the go-ahead for the facility in Appley Bridge.
The site will be powered bygas and its five generators are expected to operate for less than 20% of the year – about 1,500 hours.
Power will be supplied to the national grid from the Appley Lane North plant if renewable sources such as wind and solar are not immediately available.
It is expected that the site will usually be called upon between 4.30pm and 9.00pm on weekdays.
Committee member Sllr Stephen Clarke said he could see why the facility was needed, now that renewable energy is providing almost a third of the country’s electricity needs.
“Last summer we had something called a ‘wind drought’, when power from wind went down to about 2% [of the total power supply]. If it weren’t for sites like this, we wouldn’t have enough electricity in our homes,” he said.
The generators will be 3.5 metres tall and each will have a 10m chimney. They will be accompanied by radiators and transformers which are slightly smaller in height – and the majority of the infrastructure will have a green finish.
Objections submitted to the application included concerns over increased traffic on already congested roads and fears over emissions.
The site is on a disused railway pad which served the former West Quarry landfill. Committee members heard that the development would not prevent use of the remaining part of the pad for freight services in future, which would otherwise have been contrary to West Lancashire Borough Council’s local plan.
The main emissions expected from the 5MW facility are carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, levels of which would be “insignificant” against Environment Agency criteria, planning officers concluded.
Committee member Cllr Steve Holgate said he could not see “a legitimate reason to refuse the application”, in spite of his concern about such facilities.
“Conversion of gas to electricity is one of the most inefficient processes and I’d like to see an end to hydrocarbons being used to generate electricity,” he said.