Biomass plant bosses plan appeal
Developers behind plans for a renewable
energy plant in north Devon are planning to appeal against a decision
which turned the scheme down.
Torridge councillors agreed with officials
on Tuesday that the £43m plant was too big for the site on a disused
airfield at Winkleigh.
Representatives from Peninsula Power said
they would almost certainly be making an appeal to the government.
The company said it was confident the government would approve the
project.
Peninsula Power, a consortium of local
businessmen, wanted to build the plant on nine acres (3.6 hectares)
of the site at Winkleigh, which is a former World War II airfield.
Biomass is plant material that is burned,
creating renewable energy. The 23 mega-watt plant would have been
fuelled by a mixture of fast-growing crops, such as willow and miscanthus
grass, as well as cellulosic fibre, created from household waste.
It would have provided enough electricity for 23,000 homes.
Peninsula Power said it believed the government
would back its plans and added that the Department of Trade and
Industry had promised a grant of £11.5m towards it.
Residents against the plant said the scheme
would blight the area and was a waste of taxpayers money. They have
questioned the amount of support the South West Regional Development
Agency (RDA) has given it.
The RDA said it had spent almost £589,000
on the project, with £412,000 being used to acquire the site. But
it added that it had backed the plans because it believed they would
be of huge benefit to Winkleigh and the wider area. .
Source: BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4879546.stm
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