Plans to build a facility in Pembroke Dock, which would generate electricity from heated oily sludge, are expected to be turned down today (Tuesday).

The application by Peter Beaton of Cardiff-based Baracud Energy Ltd to build a pyrolysis unit on land at Waterloo Industrial site owned by Ledwood Mechanical Engineering Ltd was initially submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council in 2013.

The facility, which would thermally treat, at up to 900 degrees centigrade, an oily sludge and filter cake mix generated as a by-product of the oil industry, using it to generate up to six megawatts of electricity.

The application is recommended for refusal at the January meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Planning and Rights of Way Committee, which meets today.

The development; which would process up to 17,500 tonnes of material a year, as part of a 24 hour-a-day operation, running seven days a week.

The 17,500 tonnes of material is nearly all the waste produced from the petrol, gas and coal refining processes in Wales, a report for planners states.

The application includes two storage silos and a 40 metre high stack.

It is expected 12 full time jobs, split over two 12 hour shifts, would be created, with a further 30 during construction.

Some 60 letters of objection to the application have been received, raising concerns about emissions, visual impact, safety risks, and ground contamination.

Concerns were raised by Pembroke Dock Town Council about safety and health implications, and potential impact on local residents, considering a site closer to the refineries would be better suited.

The town council has also questioned the application being designated as general industrial rather than a specialist industrial usage.

The application is recommended for refusal on the grounds the site lies within a flood zone and would have an adverse impact on the Milford Haven Waterway historic landscape.

The report for councillors concluded: “There are environmental, social and economic benefits associated with the proposal,” adding: “but these material considerations are not considered to outweigh the potential environmental impacts related to development in a flood zone and the protection of the Milford Haven Waterway Registered Historic landscape.”