Llangefni Wood Biomass Power Plant
by Mike Evans
(North Wales)
Irish company Eco Pellets Limited plans to develop a wood biomass power plant in Llangefni, Anglesey as part of a £100 million renewable energy centre, with the prospect of creating 35 jobs.
The Cork-based wood fuel supply company, a major player in the Irish market, aims with the support of the Welsh Assembly Government to develop the 55 acre site at Bryn Cefni Industrial Estate, Llangefni to include biomass and wind energy.
With Anglesey seen as an Energy Island, with potential mega projects like the new Wylfa Newydd nuclear station at Wylfa, the Eco Pellets project in Llangefni is another piece in the jigsaw.
Eco Pellets Limited envisages the combination of the wood biomass electricity plant and up to four wind turbines delivering around 40MW of power, enough to provide electricity for up to 50,000 homes.
Planning permission for the developing the site will be sought in due course, and there will also need to be an Environmental Impact Assessment, before the construction phase, which will employ around a 100 people, begins early next year.
The company produces eco friendly wood pellets and wood briquettes which conform to European standards.
With the theme of energy security and the need to reconfigure towards a low carbon ecomomy, the prospect of Anglesey Energy Island having a broad portfolio of power generation and energy distribution companies is a very welcome one indeed.
Oportunities will exist both for people in existing employment to retrain, and for young school leavers and graduates to acquire relevant qualifications, to meet these new demands.
With the risk hanging over 500 jobs at the local Anglesey Aluminium smelter at Holyhead following the Rio Tinto subsidiary's announcement that unless an alternative power source could be secured, production would cease in September 2009, all new energy projects for the island are very welcome.
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