Views Sought On Waste Wood Gasification Permit Application

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is inviting people to have their say on an application for an environmental permit to operate a renewable energy facility in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The application, from Biomass UK No.2 Ltd, proposes that the facility will recover energy from the treatment of pre-prepared mixed waste wood material. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Gasification involves reacting waste wood at a high temperature without burning to generate a synthetic gas (similar to natural gas), which is then burnt to generate steam and electricity. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

If it gets the go ahead, the facility would have the capacity to process up to 86,400 tonnes of pre-processed non-hazardous waste wood per year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

NRW is carrying out a thorough assessment of the company’s application before making a decision on whether to grant a permit to allow the facility to operate or to refuse the application. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The facility already has planning permission in place granted by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Nadia De Longhi, Operations Manager from NRW said ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We have spoken with some of the community at a recent public meeting and are considering the concerns which have been raised in terms of the quality of the waste wood fuel, the effects on air quality and public health and potential fire risks as part of our assessment process. We want to give local residents and businesses further opportunities to make representations to us on the application ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The permitting system is in place to make sure that waste facilities can operate without causing harm or damage to the local environment, or the people living and working nearby. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“In our assessment, we’ll be checking to make sure the operator has all the necessary plans in place to make this happen, and we will only grant the permit if we are sure they can operate without doing this.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

A copy of the application is available to view at: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

• Natural Resources Wales, Ty Cambria, 29 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 0TP;
• Natural Resources Wales, Rivers House, St Mellons Business Park, Cardiff, CF3 0EY
• Barry library, King Square, Barry, CF63 4RW
• and Barry Town Council, 7 Gladstone Road, Barry, CF62 8NA

The current determination date for the environmental permit is 8 May but NRW encourages any representations to be made as early as possible. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​