Merthyr Tydfil £400m waste energy plant plan submitted

Plans have been submitted for a £400m energy-from-waste generating station near Merthyr Tydfil.

The Brig y Cwm plant, which developers say could create 650 construction jobs, is going to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) for a decision.

Covanta Energy says it will generate enough energy to power all the homes in Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly areas.

But Friends of the Earth claimed it would "completely undermine" efforts to cut waste and boost recycling.

The IPC is the independent body that examines applications for nationally significant projects, ranging from railways to power stations.

It will have a month to decide on whether or not to accept the plan, which would then go out to further consultation before a final go-ahead. This process could take up to a year, with a further three years before the plant is ready to open.

It is nearly two years since plans were first announced.

Covanta has already held consultation days in the local community last year, and reduced the size of the proposed site, west of Fochriw in the upper Rhymney valley and next to the Ffos-y-Fran opencast mine site.

The company was also due to take into account concerns over emissions, smell and dust, increased traffic and disposal of bottom ash to include in its environmental statement but said "no significant effects are anticipated".

It said it had also incorporated a design of the plant to blend in with the local landscape.

Iolo ap Dafydd, BBC Wales environment correspondent

Getting rid of waste and utilising the burning of waste to generate power which is then converted into electricity is the new holy grail in dealing with our rubbish.

Especially as higher penalties will have to be paid for every tonne of waste that local authorities dump in landfill sites.

So, despite recycling rates improving to on average 40% in just about every council, there's still a vast residual waste problem.

In the past few years Wales has seen a number of proposals for waste treatment plants. The biggest are the energy-from-waste plants.

Because of its size, permission for Brig y Cwm is to be decided by the Infrastructure Planning Commission in London.

Any energy provider over 50MW is beyond the assembly government's authority, and like we saw with the Viridor plant in Cardiff recently, there is opposition to these new types of incinerator.

The questions arising from all these plans is how much waste would be diverted from Welsh landfill sites, or would tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish be imported from other areas of Britain? And will the opposition to incinerating waste eventually desist?

The plant, which aims to employ 65 people permanently, would take approximately 750,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household and business waste a year.

It would generate about 70MW of electricity, enough to power up to 180,000 homes.

Around three-quarters of material would arrive by rail "from various locations" in Wales.

But Friends of the Earth's planning campaigner Mike Birkin said it was "terrible news" for local people and the environment.

"This huge waste plant will need to burn thousands of tonnes of valuable resources every year to make it cost-effective, and this will completely undermine efforts to cut waste and boost recycling," said Mr Birkin.

"Because incineration creates far fewer jobs than recycling it would have an impact on local employment too.

"The government must not allow the new fast-track planning systems to dump this waste incinerator on the people of Merthyr."

The company said the size of the plant would bring efficiencies including offering "significantly lower" costs to councils and businesses than smaller-sized plants.

Spokesman Robin Treacher said the plant would only deal with non-recycled waste, from both the municipal sector and business in Wales.

The latest proposals follow plans for the £120m Enviroparks waste-to-energy plant at Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and the Viridor plant being given the go-ahead at Splott in Cardiff.

Five local councils in south-east Wales are currently looking at tenders from companies interested in processing all black bag waste from Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Caerphilly, Newport and Monmouthshire.

Viridor is one of several companies which has tendered for the Prosiect Gwyrdd contract.

A proposal by Sterecycle to build a 200,000 tonne-a-year capacity premises near Wentloog in eastern Cardiff has also been given planning permission and will feature a non-burning approach to waste.