PLANS to build an £80 million biomass plant in Trecwn are set to be given the green light today (Tuesday).

The Valley (Pembrokeshire) Ltd is seeking full planning permission for the construction of a wood-fuelled power station at the former Royal Navy armaments depot.

The proposed development also includes a fuel storage facility, road and rail delivered fuel reception buildings and an administrative and visitor centre building.

The application site is within the eastern part of The Valley and is just over five hectares in size.

The storage facility was discontinued approximately 20 years ago and over time, buildings and structures have been removed.

The site is currently disused, and comprises areas of grass, the concrete bases of the former bunkers/buildings and areas of rubble.

Access is via a three kilometre private road which connects the western end of the site directly to the A40.

There is a row of 16 houses along this private road, the closest residential property being 600 metres away.

The applicant states that the strategy is to “re-establish The Valley as a major contributor to the local economy, using energy generation as a catalyst to attract other businesses to the site” and “the current proposal for a biomass facility represents a crucial stage in delivering this strategy”.

The council’s planning officers have recommended that the plans be approved subject to conditions including road and traffic management plans, pollution and noise control measures.

Support for the scheme has come in from Scleddau Community Council, while objections have been received from Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales.

Four letters were also sent in from local residents whose concerns were odours, smoke, fumes, dust and air quality amongst others.

A spokesman from Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth said: “The proposed Trecwn electricity generating plant would waste almost three quarters of the energy in the fuel in the form of waste heat. It would not be economically feasible to supply Trecwn’s few local dwellings with this heat and the area has no large-scale demand for it.

“We believe that all new power stations should be Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants which use both the electricity and the heat generated.

“We also share the growing concern that timber used in biomass power stations might be obtained from environmentally damaging sources. The developer anticipates that the majority of the wood may be imported, at least 'initially'.

They don't indicate from where but the vast majority of UK wood imports for power stations comes from the southern US and British Columbia, i.e. from regions where biodiverse, including old growth forests are being clear cut, increasingly for wood pellets.

“All of the wood will be transported long-distance by road, which will mean more CO2 emissions and more HGV traffic .”

The group argues that a site close to one of Pembrokeshire’s oil refineries could be a better location.