At a meeting last week, the county's development control committee approved plans by waste contractor Viridor to build a facility on the Marsh Barton Industrial Estate capable of handling up to 60,000 tonnes of residual household waste a year.
However, Viridor will have to show that the emissions of the plant are continuously monitored, after Exeter city council last week expressed fears of the plant releasing dioxins (see letsrecycle.com story).
A spokeswoman for Devon county council, who attended the committee meeting, explained that Viridor agreed to this condition because the Environment Agency would already by strictly regulating the facility under the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) legislation.
She said: “Viridor gave no objection to the extra monitoring control as its emissions are very tightly controlled anyway. But whereas the Environment Agency require a sampling process Exeter said they would like continuous monitoring. “
Facility
Viridor claims the proposed facility will save Devon from the risk of paying over £5 million a year in penalties for sending too much biodegradable waste to landfill, under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme.
It also expects to reduce the volume of residual household waste it treats by up to 90% and provide 3MW of heat power and 3MW of electricity to local business.
The company's planning application stated: “The location of the facility helps to maximise the opportunity for heat export, in addition to electricity generation via a steam turbine. There are a number of potential outlets for heat, including a local industrial facility, civic and other buildings.”
Councillor David Cox, chair of Devon's development control said: “The proposal for an Energy from Waste plant is in Devon's Waste Plan which has been the subject of a full public consultation. Our role today was to consider the planning for the plant. The proposal has already received approval from Exeter City Council, with some conditions attached.”
PPC
Howard Ellard, Viridor Project Manager said; “We are very pleased with the decision. The next step is to gain a PPC permit, the application for which has already been submitted.”
“We will continue to work in partnership with Devon county council to help meet their challenging recycling and waste management targets. The County council has developed a clear waste strategy, developed following extensive consultation and technical analysis, which has set the context for these proposals,” he added.
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