Plans for the construction of a £220 million waste recycling and electricity generation plant on an 11.7 hectare (29 acre) site off Storeys Bar Road, Peterborough, have been submitted to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

 

Submission of the plans yesterday (Tuesday 24 May) triggers the start of a four-month consultation period, during which Peterborough City Council, as a consultee in the process, can make its views known to the DTI. The council plans to arrange several opportunities for local residents to express their views on the plans.

 

Towards the end of the four-month consultation period, which will include a programme of public consultation, the council will arrange a special meeting to consider its formal response to the DTI, taking account of the views of local residents, together with environmental issues and national and local planning policies.

 

Because the proposed plant includes an electricity production capability above 50MW, the final decision on whether or not the plans are approved will be taken by the DTI under the Electricity Act. If approved by the DTI, the plant would effectively receive 'deemed planning consent' under the Town and Country Planning Act.

 

Copies of the planning application are available at Peterborough Town Hall, Central Library and Bridge House, the offices of the council's planning department. The application will also be posted on the council's website at www.peterborough.gov.uk

 

Peterborough City Council Leader Councillor Ben Franklin said: "There is enormous public interest in this application and we will ensure that local people have access to all the available facts so that they are able to make informed comment on the plans."

 

The plans have been submitted by Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd (PREL), which describes the proposed plant as a Sustainable Resource Recycling Facility. PREL has entered into an agreement with Global Olivine (GO), an international waste management company, which would build and operate the power plant.

 

The company estimates that the plant could handle more than one million tonnes of waste annually and generate an average output of 100MW of electricity through the burning of waste using a clean enhanced gasification process. This process involves burning wastes and biomass at very high temperatures in an oxygen deficient environment.

 

It claims that the resultant by-products of the gasification process, including glass, metals and aggregates, will all be recycled within the development with no requirement for landfill of any residual waste. Although various components of the process are already in operation in other countries, the proposed Peterborough plant would be the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

 

 

Note to editors:

 

In March 2005 the Environment Agency issued consent, with a number of conditions, to an application from Global Olivine for Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) consent. This effectively indicates that the Environment Agency is satisfied that the plant can be operated safely and without significant adverse impacts on the environment and public health. Any media enquiries on this matter should be directed to the Environment Agency.