THE green credentials of a £250m biomass power station planned in Northumberland have been called into question by an environmental watchdog group.
Energy company RES wants to build the 100-megawatt plant at the Battleship Wharf cargo handling site on the River Blyth between the villages of North Blyth and Cambois.
RES says the plant will provide enough renewable energy for 170,000 homes, cut carbon emissions by 300,000 tonnes a year and create between 200 and 300 construction jobs and up to 50 permanent posts.
Now the claimed benefits have been seriously questioned by the pressure group Biofuelwatch UK at a public meeting organised by local people concerned about the potential impacts of the project.
Campaigner Emelia Hanna from Biofuelwatch said small biomass schemes were a good thing but large-scale plants like the one planned at North Blyth could worsen the problem of climate change and even accelerate global warming.
She said the huge requirement for biomass fuel for such power stations was contributing to international deforestation and land-grabbing, and the North Blyth plant would involve 900,000 tonnes of wood being brought in every year.
Ms Hanna said the biomass burning system produced toxins such as carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide, and people should be very sceptical of a pledge by RES to screen out gases using technology.
She said the dozens of lorries that would visit the plant each day would also cause air pollution problems.
Ms Hanna said there was a fire risk posed by the storage of large quantities of biomass, because it was prone to self-ignition. This had been shown by a recent fire in stored biomass pellets at the Port of Tyne.
She added that the North Blyth plant would also pose a threat to local protected areas and marine life, and the motivation for the project was financial as RES would receive millions of pounds in renewables subsidies.
The meeting in North Blyth Club was held as RES prepares to submit a planning application for the plant to the Infrastructure Planning Commission.
Last night Chris Lawson, RES project manager, who attended the meeting as an observer, said: “We have been, and continue to be, interested to hear the views of local people. There weren’t really any new points raised at the meeting but we are happy to respond again and answer any concerns.”
RES claimed there are benefits from large-scale biomass generation, including greater efficiency and reduced delivery journeys.
It says modern power stations are equipped to treat exhaust gases and require an operating licence from the environment agency. They can be shut down if the licence is breached.
The company rejected claims the North Blyth plant will cause traffic problems or pose a threat to marine life.
In addition, it said the fire risk posed by bulk storage of pellets has been discussed with the Health and Safety Executive and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, and preventative measures will be put in place.
