Operator Enfinium – through its local branch Enfinium Parc Adfer Operations Limited – applied last year to increase the throughput of the plant by 16%, from 200,000 tonnes to 232,000 tonnes.
The application, explains NRW, describes how the existing plant and facility have the capacity to accommodate the increase in waste throughput, meaning that there are no changes to plant infrastructure or equipment.
‘Substantial’
Under the permit legislation, NRW says it must treat the application for a permit variation to allow the increase as “substantial” because the increase in proposed throughput, in itself, “exceeds the threshold specified in the Regulations. i.e. the proposed capacity increase is 4 tonnes per hour based on 8000 hours operation per year, compared with a permitting threshold in the Regulations of 3 tonnes per hour for waste incineration.”
The only material changes, explained NRW, to operations are considered to be an increase to the movements of materials on/off and within site by road vehicles and moving equipment, and an increase in emissions to air via the main emission point associated with the higher throughput.
Air quality
Since last August when the application was made, correspondence about the plant between NRW and Enfinium, through its consultants SLR, has included detailed discussion of air quality issues.
Parc Adfer, explains Enfinium, is a combined heat and power facility and is being operated over a 25-year period as Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with support from the Welsh Government to serve the five local authorities that make up the North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Partnership. These are Conwy county borough council, Denbighshire county council, Flintshire county council, Gwynedd Ccouncil and the Isle of Anglesey county council.
Consultation
Consultation on the proposal to increase the tonnage throughput closes on 27 March. Details are available HERE.
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