Now controversial green energy plant wants to run on burning tyres (From Thisisdorset)
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Palm oil is too expensive - now proposed Portland green energy plant could run on burning tyres
12:00pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Latest By Catherine Bolado and Martin Lea
SITE: The Portland Port site of the proposed palm oil power plant
BOSSES behind a controversial green energy plant earmarked for Portland want to change the fuel from palm oil to used car tyres.
W4B Portland Ltd is looking for feedback from the community to an interim plan to create energy from tyres, a process it says would create no emissions or smell.
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The change has come about because of the high cost of palm oil and the operators looking for an alternative fuel in the meantime to get the plant up and running.
Opponents are unconvinced and maintain Portland is the wrong place for a power station.
The £35million liquid biomass power plant was given planning approval three years ago amid widespread concern but has yet to be built on the edge of Balaclava Bay just along the coast from Portland Port.
Work to prepare the site for construction began earlier this year.
W4B Portland has applied to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to amend the feedstock condition to allow the plant to use an alternative to palm oil during the first phase of development.
The plant would convert rubber crumb from old car tyres from Dorset, Somerset and Bristol into synthetic diesel and LPG.
Tyres would be converted to the crumb away from Portland and the conversion process in the plant would take place in a sealed chamber, which bosses say would have ‘no emissions of any kind’ and no smell.
The company said this was important as the Portland coastline has world heritage site status and the project continued to be planned and integrated with ‘great care’ to avoid any ‘negative impact on the local environment.’
No change to the approved construction programme would be needed for the plant, which would create six megawatts of energy, enough to power 3,000 homes, as well as potentially providing power for the developing Portland Port.
Originally the palm oil plant was going to provide more than 18 megawatts of power.
Chairman of W4B Portland Chris Slack said the amendment would mean the plant wouldn’t import vegetable oil for the immediate future.
Instead, it would help to solve of a ‘major problem’ for local councils – disposing of used car tyres that are no longer permitted at landfill and ‘positively contribute’ towards Dorset’s waste disposal strategy and its renewable energy targets.
Mr Slack said: “The fundamental reason (for the change) is that currently palm oil is right at the top of its price band.”
He added: “This interim plant will give us a maximum of six megawatts. While it’s small, it’s still getting the plant up and running.”
Mr Slack said the hope in the long-term was to convert to palm oil.
l The consultation will take place on Saturday March 23, between 10am and 2pm at the Britannia Passenger Terminal at Portland Port. Representatives of W4B Portland will be available to answer questions.
SOUTH and West Dorset Green Party officer Jane Burnet said the plans were ‘ill-thought out’.
She added: “I can’t believe the firm isn’t capable of forecasting palm oil prices.
“Had they done that, and had the council listened to local opposition, we could have avoided having a power station on Portland.
“To my mind having it on this part of the coast is counterintuitive.”
Ms Burnet said the company, while waiting for palm oil prices to fall, could also be waiting for renewable energy subsidies to be introduced by the government.
She said the Green Party objected to palm oil as a renewable energy due to the damage caused by clearing land for plantations.
Portland resident Julie Samouelle, who lives at the Verne above Balaclava Bay, said she would research the tyres-as-energy process to investigate the environmental impact.
She added: “There would still be chimneys emitting something and I, along with the inmates of the Verne prison, are positioned just above those chimneys.
“I would be interested to know what the by-product is from burning rubber.”
Comments(9)
annotator1
says...
12:24pm Fri 8 Mar 13
Leccy
says...
12:31pm Fri 8 Mar 13
So what about the residents of Verne Common, now second behind the prison population!
It might also be nice if someone would address the pollution coming from ships in the port running generators day and night. This produces a black oily soot that coats everything!
weymouthfox
says...
7:59pm Fri 8 Mar 13
weymouthfox
says...
7:59pm Fri 8 Mar 13
Artstudent
says...
9:01pm Fri 8 Mar 13
And yet it is not quite ideal. Burning tyres in this way does produce emissions, even if these are no worse than from other energy sources.
Incineration releases noxious gases and airborne pollutants into the atmosphere, while creating undesirable residuals such as tar. Then there is pyrolysis, which occurs at a slightly higher temperature than incineration. This is more efficient for energy recovery but releases unwanted emissions and generates the same residuals.
Plasma arc gasification uses high temperature plasma torches to create a heat in excess of 5,000°C. This basically zaps anything into gas in an instant, but this expensive technology consumes a lot of energy.
A better solution could be at hand, though, a new technology that's currently on trial. It takes shredded tyres, and subjects them to a temperature in the 1,200°C-1,700°C range in a controlled oxygen-free environment.
This process could convert up to 80% of the energy content of any organic waste material into saleable synthetic gas, while producing zero emissions.
PortlandYoof
says...
10:52am Sat 9 Mar 13
Also, please, for your own sake and to avoid looking stupid - re-read the article. This new plant won't be BURNING anything - they are converting the tyres to diesel/LPG. They've already said there's no emissions as the process is carried out in a 'sealed chamber'.
Bloody keyboard warriors...!
Leccy
says...
1:42pm Sun 10 Mar 13
PortlandYoof wrote:Funny that, I am a resident and have been for over 25 years and yes I have a white vehicle. I can wash it one day and two days later it is covered in black streaks but hasn't been driven. Yet the generators on board the ships have been running constantly,and the wind direction is onshore!
As a resident of the area you mention, (for going on 6 years now - and owning a WHITE car) - I can happily say you are clearly getting this 'black soot' from somewhere else... as my nice white car sure as hell doesn't get any and it's parked on the road all the time! Sure it gets grubby living on portland anyway, but hey ho!
Also, please, for your own sake and to avoid looking stupid - re-read the article. This new plant won't be BURNING anything - they are converting the tyres to diesel/LPG. They've already said there's no emissions as the process is carried out in a 'sealed chamber'.
Bloody keyboard warriors...!
Also you mention they are going to be converting tyres into fuel, yes they are to burn in he generator to produce energy in the form of electricity. That is the idea of the scheme to be a POWER plant producing electricity to feed in to the network.
jiinks
says...
8:38pm Wed 13 Mar 13
annotator1 says...
12:23pm Fri 8 Mar 13