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Planning permission for new EFW plant opens door for district heating
Release date: 19th July 2010
SLR's work for Viridor, which led to planning permission for a new energy from waste (EfW) plant in Cardiff, has now opened the door for the scheme to include district heating.
The Trident Park site in Cardiff Bay will treat 350,000 tonnes of residual waste and has the potential to provide electricity and heat to homes and businesses across the city.
Will Ryan, principal planner at SLR said: "Everyone involved in this project has worked tirelessly to develop this scheme which the planners agree will provide an effective single location for waste management in South East Wales.
"Planning applications for this technology are still viewed with caution by local politicians and this is often behind their initial inclination to turn schemes down - despite the recommendations of their own planning officials," said Will.
"However, we believe that the decision by Cardiff Council to grant permission for the Trident Park plant will offer encouragement to planners considering such applications elsewhere."
SLR undertook all environmental impact assessment work for the Trident Park project and also carried out permitting for the project which has also now been granted in draft.
The Trident Park scheme is expected to create some 300 temporary construction jobs and 50 full time jobs, and will secure over £200million pounds of investment.
Viridor Technical Development Manager, Howard Ellard, said: "SLR's commitment over the last few years has been outstanding and its multi-disciplinary experts in planning and permitting have helped ease the development of this project.
"The Trident Park EfW facility is designed to help meet challenging waste management targets and help businesses and local authorities achieve greater resource efficiency. We have been very encouraged by the fact that since we received the planning green light, 20 local businesses have expressed an interest in using energy generated by the Trident Park plant."
SLR is currently involved in the development of eight other EfW schemes around the UK which are at various stages in the planning process.