Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is inviting people to comment on an application from Clean Power (UK) Limited for an environmental permit to operate a pyrolysis facility in Carmarthenshire.

The Carmarthen Energy Recovery Centre (CERC) facility is being proposed for development on the former landfill site at New Lodge Farm in Cwmgwili, near Crosshands.

It would have the capacity to produce 18 megawatts of electricity (MWe) by:

• pyrolysing up to 128,000 tonnes of commercial and domestic waste into gas (12MWe);
• anaerobically digesting up to 67,000 tonnes of food waste and burning the resulting gas (3MWe); and
• capturing solar energy through a 3MWe photovoltaic panel array.

All incoming waste would also be subject to mechanical separation, to filter out recyclable materials for external reprocessing. It is estimated that the facility could recover up to 30 per cent of the feedstock for recycling.

The site would also have the capability of utilising heat from the anaerobic digester and pyrolysis centre for on-site process heating, and domestic heating.

If approved, CERC would create up to 34 new full-time jobs throughout its 25-year operating life. Up to 150 local construction jobs would also be created during the 18-month construction phase.

CERC does not fulfil R1 status

Although the site is billed as a recovery centre, a letter from Natural Resources Wales to renewable energy consultancy Sol Environment (acting on behalf of Clean Power), dated 16 April 2014, outlines that as European ‘recovery’ status (R1 status) only applies to incineration or heat treatment plants dedicated to municipal waste, CERC will not be R1 certified (and thus be deemed as a disposal facility).

The planning application outlines that the facility could also affect ‘protected and priority’ species, such as dormice, barn owls and badgers – however, the firm has said it will work to limit impacts on these species, and work to ensure they are protected from the development.

The environmental regulator will now carry out an assessment into the company’s proposals to find out if the proposed facility can be operated with ‘minimal impact on local people or the environment’.

The environmental permit will only be granted if NRW is ‘satisfied the proposed facility will not harm the health of local residents or damage the environment’.

NRW to ‘conduct a thorough assessment of the proposals’

Mary Youell, from Natural Resources Wales, said: “We’ll be conducting a thorough assessment of the proposals before we make any decision on whether we will allow it to go ahead.

“The application is for a facility to recover recyclable materials from commercial and domestic waste. The proposed facility will burn the residual (non-recyclable) waste in a pyrolysis plant to produce electricity. Additional electricity will also be produced by burning gas generated by the anaerobic digestion of food waste.

“We are welcoming comments from the local community including information which may be relevant to the application.

“If we allow the permit, it will contain strict conditions to protect people and the environment, and will be regulated closely by our officers for as long as it operates.”

The public consultation period will run until Monday, 1 December 2014.

People can view details of the application from Carmarthenshire County Council’s website or via the official CERC site.

Those wishing to respond to NRW’s consultation should do so by contacting the body via enquiries@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk or on 0300 065 3000.