The project is in a position to submit an application for a Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate and MPL will continue to monitor market conditions to determine the appropriate time for submission.
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Millbrook Power shares final plans with local councils
Millbrook Power (MPL) has made one significant change to the project since it last met the local authorities in November: MPL has chosen to underground the electrical cable connection for its power project, thereby avoiding the need to construct new overhead lines and new transmission towers. The decision to go underground (the gas pipeline connection will also be underground) will significantly reduce the visual impact of the project and has been taken after careful consideration of the views held by local councillors and local people, and MPL’s completion of its technical and environmental studies that have been carried out over the past 12 months.
Nick Johnson, MPL’s Project Manager said: “The local councillors welcomed our decision to go underground with the electrical connection; this follows our decision, last year, to reduce the height of the power station stacks after considering the results of technical studies. The councillors also acknowledged the measures that we will take to minimise other impacts of the power project. Our project is situated on land allocated for development but we have always been mindful of the views of local people, and fully appreciate the local environment and the heritage of the area.”
Jason Longhurst, Director of Regeneration at Central Bedfordshire Council said: “It has been very useful to have been engaged early in this important development and we’re pleased that Millbrook Power has provided changes to reduce the visual impact of the development.”
Millbrook Power intends to submit its application to the Planning Inspectorate before the end of March and there should then follow a six month period of examination during which time the local councils and other interested parties can express their views.
Subject to the outcome of the Planning Inspectorate’s examination process and the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change granting a Development Consent Order, the Millbrook Power project could enter commercial operation in 2019/2020.
Notes to editors:
- The underground electrical connection will export the electricity that is generated by the power plant via a new sub-station into the National Grid. The underground gas pipeline will deliver natural gas, the power station’s only fuel source, from the UK national gas transmission system to the power generation plant.
- The £200m MPL project was first announced in May 2014. Since then, MPL’s technical and environmental studies have considered a range of issues such as noise, air quality, visual impact, ecology and transport. In addition, MPL has publicised its plans via various channels, consulted the local councils in the area and a range of other interested parties and held two series of public exhibitions.
- Subject to planning and financing, construction of the project could start in 2017/2018 for a 2-3 year period. The plant (up to 299MW capacity) will only run at times when electricity demand is at its highest, mainly during the winter months, and on those occasions when there is intermittent output from renewable sources of energy, primarily wind and solar.
- The project would be a substantial and long-term investment in the area, seeing the creation of around 150 construction jobs, up to 15 permanent skilled jobs and potential business opportunities for local companies. MPL is consulting Central Bedfordshire and Bedford Borough Councils on ways to bring wider social and environmental benefits to the surrounding area.
For further information, please visit https://www.drax.com/uk/about-us/our-projects/millbrook-power/
Progress Power’s Response to Dr Dan Poulter MP
“We have met Dr Poulter on a number of occasions to discuss our proposed project, which is presently being considered by the Planning Inspectorate. We have explained to Dr Poulter and the Planning Inspectorate our reasons for choosing the airfield site for the location of the gas-fired power station, which in principle the local authorities support.
“We have also explained our reasons for the location of the substation, and outlined the work that we will undertake to minimise its visual impact, including the undergrounding of the necessary electrical connection. In addition, we have outlined our initiatives to bring wider benefit to the local area, whilst working with the local councils.
“If our project is approved and built, it will help deliver the Government’s energy and environment policies.”
Statutory consultation on the Abergelli Power Project has now closed
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you if you took the time to provide us with feedback. Your views are important to us.
As part of the statutory consultation process we engaged with the local community – distributing more than 13,000 leaflets to homes and businesses in the vicinity of the site in advance of a series of public exhibitions at Llangyfelach, Felindre, Clydach and Tircoed between 22 and 25 October 2014. Across the four days, more than 100 people visited the exhibitions. We have also liaised closely – and continue to do so – with the City & County of Swansea and relevant community councils.
In addition, we have been in contact with stakeholders such as Natural Resources Wales, Cadw and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board. We anticipate that these and other technical stakeholders will provide comments, following this formal consultation stage, which we will consider as we finalise our Development Consent Order application.
The feedback received during the public exhibitions was broadly positive. We are continuing to refine our proposals where concerns were raised, in particular to mitigate the potential visual impact of the Project where possible and to secure the preferred access option from the B4489 to the west of the Project site.
Comments on the Project, and its operation as a flexible, peaking power plant which would support security of energy supply in the future were also received from local people.
Following consideration of all responses returned by stakeholders and the local community, we are now focused on refining our design and submitting an application for a Development Consent Order to the Planning Inspectorate in the first quarter of 2015. That application will be accompanied by an Environmental Statement, which will provide detailed information on a range of topics, including air quality, noise and vibration, landscape and visual impact and traffic, transport and access.
The application will also include a Consultation Report. This document will describe how we have had regard to feedback received and indicate how this has been taken into account in the development and design of the project.
Once the application has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and accepted for examination, the application documents, including the Environmental Statement and the Consultation Report, will be available to view and download from this website, from the Abergelli Power Limited project pages of the Planning Inspectorate’s website and to view at local libraries and council offices. Hard copies of the application documents will also be available to buy.
Once the application is accepted for examination, it will proceed through the examination phase where the local community and other relevant stakeholders can make representations to the Planning Inspectorate. Assuming that the application is submitted in early 2015, we would expect a decision from the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change in the middle of 2016 and, subject to further permitting and financing, the Project could enter commercial operation in 2019/2020.
If you have any queries relating to the project, please do not hesitate to contact us by calling 0131 550 3395, sending an email to [email protected] or by writing FREEPOST RTEY-JYYB-ERSR, Abergelli Power Ltd, 49 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3JD.
Statutory Consultation Period Ends
This period was designed to attain feedback from the public and relevant organisations about the proposal. The Millbrook Power team received a range of comments from local residents, local businesses, local councillors as well as the relevant planning authorities and other local and national organisations that have an interest in the Project.
During this consultation period, four public exhibitions were held in Stewartby, Lidlington, Ampthill and Marston Moretaine. These exhibitions, attended by around 175 people, provided the public with information on the Project and the developments of the proposal, as well as the opportunity to ask questions to the Millbrook Power team who were present at the events. Significantly, these exhibitions provided opportunity for local residents to provide us with feedback.
The exhibitions were advertised locally and a leaflet about the Project, which included a feedback form, was delivered to households and businesses in the area surrounding the site at Rookery South Pit.
Chris McKerrow and Nick Johnson, the Director and Manager of the Millbrook Power Project respectively, also gave a talk to sixth form students at Kimberley College on the Future of Energy in the UK. Amongst other things the talk explained the need for projects such as this, and described the Project and the work that we are doing to bring it forward.
Now that the period of consultation has ended, the Millbrook team are collating the information received and finalising certain aspects of the design accordingly, taking account of any concerns raised by the public during consultation. Documentation for our submission to the Planning Inspectorate is also being prepared, such as the Environmental Statement and our Consultation Report, which will be available to the public once the submission has been made. The submission is expected in the first quarter of next year.
In the meantime, Millbrook Power will continue to liaise with Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council, as well as the local parish councils in the area to ensure they are fully informed of the Project’s evolution and status.
Statutory Consultation Period Ends
This period was designed to attain feedback from the public and relevant organisations about the proposal. The Millbrook Power team received a range of comments from local residents, local businesses, local councillors as well as the relevant planning authorities and other local and national organisations that have an interest in the Project.
During this consultation period, four public exhibitions were held in Stewartby, Lidlington, Ampthill and Marston Moretaine. These exhibitions, attended by around 175 people, provided the public with information on the Project and the developments of the proposal, as well as the opportunity to ask questions to the Millbrook Power team who were present at the events. Significantly, these exhibitions provided opportunity for local residents to provide us with feedback.
The exhibitions were advertised locally and a leaflet about the Project, which included a feedback form, was delivered to households and businesses in the area surrounding the site at Rookery South Pit.
Chris McKerrow and Nick Johnson, the Director and Manager of the Millbrook Power Project respectively, also gave a talk to sixth form students at Kimberley College on the Future of Energy in the UK. Amongst other things the talk explained the need for projects such as this, and described the Project and the work that we are doing to bring it forward.
Now that the period of consultation has ended, the Millbrook team are collating the information received and finalising certain aspects of the design accordingly, taking account of any concerns raised by the public during consultation. Documentation for our submission to the Planning Inspectorate is also being prepared, such as the Environmental Statement and our Consultation Report, which will be available to the public once the submission has been made. The submission is expected in the first quarter of next year.
In the meantime, Millbrook Power will continue to liaise with Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council, as well as the local parish councils in the area to ensure they are fully informed of the Project’s evolution and status.
Statutory consultation begins on £200m power plant proposal for Abergelli Farm
Abergelli Power Limited (APL), an energy development company established by Watt Power Limited, will be consulting on the £200m proposal between 13 October 2014 and 16 November 2014.
The proposed Project would produce up to 299 megawatts (MW) of electricity, and represent a significant multi million pound investment into the local economy. It could support up to 150 jobs during the 2-3 year construction and commissioning period, and up to 15 full-time jobs when operational.
The modern gas-fired plant would have low emissions and would help strengthen and secure the UK’s energy supply by providing back up to intermittent energy that is generated from renewable sources – primarily wind and solar. It would be designed to operate flexibly (i.e. not always running) and permitted to produce electricity for no more than 1,500 hours per year.
As the plant will produce more than 50MW of electricity, it is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. This means that a Development Consent Order is required to build, operate and maintain it. An application for a Development Consent Order will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate with a final decision taken by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
The proposal was first presented to the local community during non-statutory public exhibitions in June this year, and statutory consultation will show how the project has developed since then.
APL has taken into account initial community feedback, alongside ongoing engagement with City & County of Swansea (CCS) and authorities such as Natural Resources Wales, and the company’s own technical and environmental studies. The consultation period will now give members of the local community the opportunity to learn more about, comment on, and potentially influence the proposals before an application for a Development Consent Order is submitted.
APL has produced a Statement of Community Consultation, detailing the consultation programme. It includes a number of exhibition events, which will be an opportunity for local people and interested organisations to see the plans and give their views on the proposals. CCS has been consulted on the consultation programme.
The exhibitions will be held on:
• Wednesday 22nd October 2014, 15:00-20:00 – Llangyfelach Church Hall, Swansea Road, Llangyfelach, Swansea SA5 7JA
• Thursday 23rd October 2014, 14:00-19:00 – Felindre Welfare Hall, Felindre, Swansea, SA5 7NA
• Friday 24th October 2014, 14:00-19:00 – Forge Fach Resource Centre, Hebron Road, Clydach, Swansea, SA6 5EJ
• Saturday 25th October 2014, 09:00-13:00 – Tircoed Village Hall, Y Cyswllt, Tircoed SA4 9QZ
Members of the APL project team will be on hand at these events to explain the proposed Project, how to get involved in the consultation process, and to answer any questions the community may have. Preliminary assessments of the likely significant environmental effects of the project will also be available for viewing.
APL’s Project director Norman Campbell said:
“Consultation with local communities and organisations is vitally important to us. It provides us with an opportunity to explain our project in detail and get feedback to help with the development of our proposals. Our initial phase of consultation in June gave us the chance to communicate directly with local people, gather their views and address their concerns.
“We will now explain how the project has moved forward in recent months and provide more detailed information. One of the key changes we have made is to reduce the height of the stacks of the plant. Following community feedback and our technical and environmental work, we can confirm that they will be no taller than 40 metres. This decision is just one of the steps we have taken to minimise the environmental and visual impact of the Project.
“We are also looking for people’s views on the environmental work we have carried out to date, the proposed route options for accessing the Project, and our proposed layout of the plant within the Project site.
“We hope that as many people as possible will attend our public exhibition days, or see the information we have made available on the project website and deposited at local libraries. We will advertise the formal consultation in local media and are also distributing more than 13,000 leaflets to homes and businesses in the area in the vicinity of the site.”
At the end of the consultation period APL will finalise its proposals before submitting an application for a Development Consent Order. Subject to the consultation and planning process and financing, the power plant could enter commercial operation in 2019/2020.
For further information on the project visit: https://www.drax.com/uk/about-us/our-projects/abergelli-power/.
Drax welcomes DECC carbon calculator’s contribution to sustainable biomass debate
Drax welcomes the publication of the DECC report ‘Life cycle impacts of biomass electricity in 2020’ and the contribution it can make to the debate surrounding carbon savings through the use of sustainable biomass in the production of electricity.
The study considers a broad range of scenarios from the believable to the implausible. As we would expect, the scenarios that more closely reflect real world practices in sustainable forestry and responsible biomass sourcing confirm that using biomass in place of coal can deliver significant carbon savings in the short, medium and long term.
The focus of the study, North America, was identified several years ago by Drax as one of our source areas due to the abundance of biomass which met with our own robust sustainability criteria. The biomass that Drax sources from this geographic area includes woody residues and thinnings from sustainably managed forests where the carbon stock is either stable or increasing. The study recognises both the low carbon impacts of biomass sourced in this way and the scale of the resource. Drax also sources biomass from Europe.
As an academic study it does not purport to represent actual supply chains, each of which has distinct attributes, but it does confirm the need to ensure that all biomass used for electricity production is sourced sustainably to deliver low carbon electricity. That is something Drax has campaigned for in the UK and Europe for many years and which the UK Government has already anticipated by introducing sustainability criteria which will be mandatory from next April.
Adding to the debate, Drax notes the recent publication of a report1, prepared for the European Commission, by another arm of UK Government, the research agency of the Forestry Commission. The report reviews scientific literature on the contributions of biogenic carbon to greenhouse gas emissions due to the production and use of bioenergy, and how these contributions may be appropriately included in methodologies for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. This highlights the importance of working with colleagues across the EU to develop a common understanding and methodology in this important and complex area.
Dorothy Thompson, Chief Executive of Drax, said:
“Sustainability has always been absolutely central to our biomass strategy. The academic study by DECC confirms what Drax has always argued, that there is a right way to source biomass and a wrong way. We welcome that it confirms the fact that where biomass is sourced sustainably major carbon savings can be delivered.
“This study adds to the growing breadth of analysis on sustainable sourcing of biomass as a fuel for low carbon electricity generation. We look forward to working closely with UK Government and other EU stakeholders to improve further the knowledge and analysis in this complex area.
“When we complete our plans to convert three of our generating units to burn sustainable biomass in place of coal we will be able to deliver cost effective, renewable electricity to the equivalent of over three million homes and reduce our carbon emissions by over ten million tonnes a year. No other renewable can make such an impact and provide electricity at scale day-in, day-out whatever the weather.”
Notes to editors
- Forest Research, Review of literature on biogenic carbon and life cycle assessment of forest bioenergy, Final Task 1 report, DG ENER project, ‘Carbon impacts of biomass consumed in the EU’, 15 May 2014
£200m power station proposal is announced
Abergelli Power Ltd, a UK energy project developer, today announces proposals to build a gas-fired power station on land at Abergelli Farm, south of Felindre and to the north of the M4 motorway. The proposed power station could produce up to 299 megawatts (MW) of electricity and inject tens of millions of pounds into the south west Wales economy.
The company will consult with local people and organisations before applying for permission to build the power station. The proposed project would support 150 jobs during the construction and commissioning period, and up to 15 new full time, skilled jobs when operational.
The proposed project would have low emissions and would help strengthen and secure the UK’s energy supply by providing back up to intermittent energy that is generated from renewable sources – primarily wind and solar. The power station and its related energy infrastructure would be designed to operate flexibly (i.e. not always running) and would produce electricity for no more than 1,500 hours per year.
Consultation is a very important part of the planning process and Abergelli Power will engage with local communities before applying for development consent to build the power station. An initial phase of public information events to introduce the project will be held at the following local venues:
- Thursday, June 19 at Forge Fach Community Resource Centre, Hebron Road, Clydach, Swansea, SA6 5 EJ between 3pm and 7pm;
- Friday, June 20 at Felindre Welfare Hall, Felindre, Swansea, SA5 7NA between 3pm and 7pm; and
- Saturday, June 21 at Tircoed Village Hall, Y Cyswllt, Tircoed SA4 9QZ between 10am and 1pm.
Members of the Abergelli Power project team will be on hand at these events to explain the how the proposals will be taken forward and how the consultation process is expected to evolve. Consultation with local communities and organisations, including City & County of Swansea Council as well as the community councils in the vicinity of the site, will be a part of the consenting process for the project, alongside the detailed environmental impact assessments and technical studies that will be undertaken over the coming months.
People and local businesses in the area are being notified of the exhibitions by letter and via an advertisement in the local press. Information about the project and Abergelli Power can also be viewed online via https://www.drax.com/uk/about-us/our-projects/abergelli-power/
Abergelli Power proposes to take gas from the nearby National Gas Transmission System and use it to generate electricity. This energy will feed into the National Grid, which also runs very close to the site. The power station will produce up to 299MW of electricity, enough to supply the equivalent of around 400,000 homes, at times when demand is highest.
Norman Campbell, Abergelli Power’s project director said:
“This power station will be an ultra modern and clean facility and a very significant investment in the local economy. We will do our utmost to ensure that the power plant will cause the minimum disturbance locally, during construction and subsequent operation. Its operation will be subject to stringent environmental and emission regulations.
“We will seek to maximise local economic benefit where we can, both during construction and operations.
He added: “Before seeking permission to build the plant, there will be an extensive consultation process with City & County of Swansea Council and with local people and interest groups. This is extremely important to us, as we want to explain our plans in detail and listen to what people have to say.”
Mr Campbell said that Swansea City Council and the Welsh Government had been briefed on the proposal. Following consultation and feedback from communities and interest groups, Abergelli Power intends to submit an application for a Development Consent Order to the UK’s Planning Inspectorate in early 2015 with a final decision taken by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Additional consents, including planning permissions, may also be required for elements of the project.
Abergelli Power is a development company solely focused on taking forward the project at Abergelli Farm. It is owned by Watt Power (www.wattpowerltd.co.uk). The Watt Power management team has extensive experience of developing energy projects in the UK and overseas. The company is currently taking forward two similar power station projects in the UK: one in Hirwaun, in Rhondda Cynon Taf and one in Suffolk, south east England.
Subject to the consultation and planning process and financing, the power station could enter commercial operation in by 2020.
