THE Wiltshire company behind a scheme to locate a £200 million waste-to-energy incinerator at Westbury has defended its proposals to change its technology.
Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd has submitted plans to Wiltshire Council to switch the technology for the proposed facility from advanced thermal treatment gasification to moving grate combustion.
The joint venture firm, which is owned by The Hills Group in Swindon and Bioenergy Infrastructure Group, has also applied to the Environment Agency for an operating permit.
The public consultation for the permit ended on February 22 and the company is now awaiting both decisions.
Alex Young, project director at Bioenergy Infrastructure Group and Ed Dodd, group director at The Hills Group, were recently interviewed on BBC Radio Wiltshire about the proposed facility.
They answered questions posed by the BBC on behalf of the local community, including those relating to the change in technology, the location of the facility, emissions and traffic impact.
Mr Young said: “The opportunity to be interviewed on the show and engage with the community to address their concerns is incredibly important to us.”
The company says the project will turn 243,000 tonnes of the region’s commercial and industrial residual waste into low carbon energy; enough to power 48,000 homes and helping to meet the UK's 65 per cent recycling target by 2035 and carbon reduction targets.
As a complement to the BBC Radio Wiltshire appearance, NREL has updated and expanded the frequently asked questions that feature on the company's website, to incorporate not only the questions posed in the interview, but also questions that have been raised in recent weeks, through the planning and operational permit processes.
So far, South Wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison, 16 local councils, the Westbury Gasification Action Group/No Westbury Incinerator, and scores of local residents have objected to the scheme.
Dr Brian Mathew, the LibDem's climate emergency spokesman in Wiltshire, has urged Wiltshire Council to revoke NREL's planning consent granted in 2019.
The full FAQs are on the NREL website at https://northacre-energy.co.uk/faqs/
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