Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth - News

Say No to Experimental Gasification plant at Blackbridge  2nd Feb 2017

Egnedol has applied for planning permission to build a large biomass and waste Gasification Plant in Blackbridge, Milford Haven.

The application also includes plans to use the waste CO2 within a number of other businesses such as fish and prawn farming, algal farming, an "advanced" aviation biofuel refinery, a cheese factory, a packaging and processing plant, and greenhouses.

The consultation period of the planning appliction is currently running, and the public has until 2nd February 2017 to send in objections.

What are the concerns?

1) The plant would be using a technology which no company has ever made to work in the UK, despite many attempts by different companies, and which has proven difficult in many parts of the world. Egnedol have no track record in wood and waste gasification. It's unproven technology, may never work, and is unlikely to deliver the promised jobs and benefits.

2) The company claim that they will use biomass, but this fuel supply is by no means certain, and will have to be shipped in from overseas, which is not sustainable. Their claims of being ready to import the fuel from Morocco and Greece are invalid, as no supply is yet available in that country.

3) If they decide to burn waste, then under Welsh planning policy they have to prove that there is a need for this, and that it would not divert waste away from recycling. Their application shows no evidence for this.

4) Wood and waste gasification is associated with significant risks of explosion, and higher toxic air emissions than planned. This is in an area in Milford Haven which has a number of polluting industries, and industries with similar risks of explosion, such as the LNG plant. Gasification is a tricky technology to get right, and there is a high chance that unfiltered gases would have to be released directly into the atmosphere to prevent pressure buildups in the system which could lead to an explosion.

5) The planning application documentation makes exaggerated claims regarding the re-use of the CO2 released by the process, and many of its figures are contradictory within different parts of the application. It is hard to have confidence in a company that cannot get the maths right in a planning application, let alone in the complex calculations that will be required in running this technology.

6) In theory the associated businesses are good uses for the waste gas, but would require acreage far beyond what is being proposed.

 

So, what can you do?

Object to this planning application. For help in doing this, go to biofuelwatch.org.uk/2017/egnedol-gasifier-objection.  This must be done by 2nd February 2017

Tell your Councillors and Assembly members about your concerns

Write to the local paper

Spread the word amongst friends

Print the poster below, and put up in your local area, or print some fliers and circulate.

Contact biofuelwatch@ymail.com if you want to do more.

Download poster   Download flier