Date: January 4, 2011
Source: Covanta Energy
Covanta Energy Corp. is proposing to build a $622 million (£400 million) waste-to-energy facility in south Wales near Merthyr Tydfil. Covanta says the plant would employ 65 people, take about 750,000 metric tons of non-recyclable waste per year and generate 70 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 180,000 Welsh homes or all the homes in the Merthyr and Caerphilly areas. Waste would be brought to the site on an existing rail line that will link to a number of rail operated waste transfer stations to be created across Wales. Covanta says it will be solely responsible for financing, building and operating the plant which will present no financial risk to local authorities.
FROM COVANTA'S WEBSITE
Brig y Cwm, Wales Energy from Waste Project
Covanta Energy is proposing to build an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant near Merthyr Tydfil (Wales) to provide sustainable energy for Welsh households and industry.
The £400 million plant - known as Brig y Cwm - will be located near to the Miller Argent (South Wales) Ltd Cwmbargoed disposal point. It will take approximately 750,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household and business waste a year and generate about 70 Megawatts of electricity - enough to power up to 180,000 Welsh homes. Most of the waste will be brought to the site using the existing railway line that will link to a number of rail operated waste transfer stations to be created across Wales - significantly reducing the need for road haulage.
Brig y Cwm will make Wales a UK leader in obtaining electricity from renewable resources and address the increasingly serious problem of household and commercial rubbish disposal. The plant will greatly reduce the need for Welsh local authorities to send non-recyclable waste to landfill sites, some of which are due to close in the near future. The plant will also provide an alternative to landfill, helping local authorities meet tough environmental targets and avoid tax penalties. The plant will only consume waste that cannot effectively be re-used or recycled.
The plant will be financed, built, owned and operated by Covanta Energy and will present no financial risk to local authorities. It will also help cut greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change - by displacing the carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel generation and reducing long-term emissions of methane gas from landfill sites that will otherwise be required.
The plant will provide up to 650 jobs during construction and around 65 full time jobs in Wales thereafter. Covanta Energy is also investigating the possibility that people and businesses in neighbouring communities could have the opportunity to buy electricity at significantly below market rates and that lower cost energy and waste heat can be made available to attract other new investors to the area.
As the Brig y Cwm development will generate more than 50MW of electricity, it is considered to be a nationally significant infrastructure project. The application for the development (termed a ‘Development Consent Order') will be determined by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), an independent body established to consider large projects that support the economy and vital public services. Further information about the IPC and the procedures for determining Development Consent Order applications can be obtained from www.infrastructure.independent.gov.uk
Covanta is committed to public consultation over its plans. Please check back regularly for updates and more information as the project progresses or contact us by emailing covanta@wepr.co.uk or calling 02920 556143.
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