Printed on Friday, March 06, 2009 in the Blackmore Vale Magazine
“PLANS to build a large energy plant on the outskirts of Castle Cary have enraged local councillors.
Bronzeoak Thermal wants to build a biomass power plant on its site in Dimmer.
The business claims a 25 megawatt generator would make a significant contribution towards the government’s sustainable energy targets and create diversification opportunities for farmers.
But local councillors aren’t convinced. Serious concerns have been raised about air pollution from the burner, the scale of the project and the extra traffic it would generate. Castle Cary Town Council, and Carymoor, Ansford and Lydford parish councils are preparing for a fight.
Representatives from the local councils met after finding out about the plans last week. They believe a 25Mw plant is far too big for Castle Cary.
With a 45-metre boiler unit and chimneys stretching up to around 60 metres, the plant would be bigger than Crown Pet Foods’ nearby factory, which measures-up at around 38 metres.
John Newton of Carymoor Parish Council described the proposed power plant as an “oversized monster”.
“We will fight this proposal all the way,” he said.
According to Mr Newton, there is no need for such a large-scale energy plant in the area. He explained that the proposed 6Mw pyrolysis plant in Haybridge would serve the 10,000 people living in Wells, and Castle Cary is already self-sufficient in energy for its 3,000 residents through the 4Mw output from landfill gas produced at Dimmer.
The incinerator would be fuelled by green wood, waste wood and even dried sewage sludge. Local farmers would be encouraged to grow and supply miscanthus and willow as energy crops.
The supply of fuel is one of the biggest concerns of local councils.
Operating 24-hours a day, seven days a week, a 25Mw plant would need 250,000 tonnes of fuel each year. This is expected to amount to 100 additional lorry movements per day.
Mr Newton explained that the local road network is already struggling to cope with the HGV traffic that takes 120,000 tonnes of waste to the neighbouring Dimmer landfill site every year. Deliveries to and from the power plant are expected to be made along the B3153 through the narrow village roads of Clanville and Alford – already noted as one of Somerset’s accident black spots.
“There are already times when it is virtually impossible to walk through the village because of the heavy traffic. There is terrible verge erosion and roadside properties are being damaged by vibration,” Mr Newton added.
“This proposal certainly isn’t green. All it would do is lead to a massive increase in HGV traffic thundering through local communities and increased carbon emissions.”
Worries have also been raised about air pollution caused by burning treated wood.
Castle Cary town councillor Jim Hood, who has a background in biochemistry, explained: “You get a lot of chemicals in waste wood, and burning it will produce dioxins. This plant would be running at around 400C, the only way to destroy dioxins is to heat to twice this temperature.”
Bronzeoak first built an incinerator on its Dimmer site in 1998 to dispose of animal carcasses following the BSE crisis. It was then used to dispose of waste from abattoirs until it was shut down by the Environment Agency in 2006 for breaching emissions regulations.
According to Bronzeoak, the biomass plant would be carbon neutral. Powered by an air-cooled steam turbine, it would supply electricity to the national grid. More than 25 jobs could be created on-site with as many as 100 through the fuel supply chain.
The company believes growing fuel crops for the plant would provide an alternative income for local farmers.
The project is at the scoping stage and a formal planning application has yet to be made. If approved, Bronzeoak believes the plant would take around 30 months to construct.
A spokesman for Bronzeoak said: “This is at a very early stage and nothing has been confirmed yet. We are conducting an internal review to establish exactly what we want to do and have had preliminary discussions with planners and councillors.
“We will work to mitigate the impact on the local area. Emissions are tightly controlled by statutory standards and are monitored continually and stringently.
“The community will be involved through consultation when appropriate.”
Henry Hobhouse, county and district councillor for Castle Cary, said he supports the principle of biomass energy production but he believes Bronzeoak’s proposal is wrong for the town. He said it should be sited where local industry could make use of heat gained through water-cooling and where fuel could be supplied via better road links.
“This is the right technology but it is in the wrong place and on the wrong scale. It should be on the edge of Yeovil or Bridgwater, close to a major road and close to industry where the heat and energy can be used locally.
“A one-megawatt unit dealing with 10,000 tonnnes of locally grown material and located close to the local industrial estate would be more appropriate.”
Local residents have formed Dimmer Action Group to oppose the application. Updates on their campaign, and a petition against the energy plant, can be seen at www.dimmeractiongroup.co.uk
Mathew Manning”
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