Our Concerns for Health, Safety and the Environment

Prenergy Power are proposing a 350 MWe Woodchip Power Station to be situated at Port Talbot Docks. This will be the biggest of it's kind in the world, and located only 250m from housing.

Contrary to the rosy outlook that Prenergy are painting, we believe there will be significant (unmentioned) effects on the local population and environment, such as the following (Click on the links to view more in-depth, technical information to support our claims):

Lives/Safety Impacts

  • Risk of Fire in the storage area

    Our most immediate concern. Prenergy intends to store massive amounts of fuel, stacked at unsafe heights of 20m. These unsafe heights increase the risk of a massive, uncontrollable fire being started through spontaneous combustion.

Health Impacts

  • Noise Pollution/Sleep Deprivation

    Already at a high and untolerable level for residents around the docks, the power station will increase noise on a 24 hour basis. Sleep deprivation is likely for those close to the docks.

  • Respiratory Infections

    Wood dust and toxic mould spores created by damp wood chips, will pollute the local air, may be inhaled into the lungs, and can potentially cause many respiratory illnesses, some fatal.

  • Fugitive Dust Effects

    Prevailing winds are able to carry much of the toxic, fugitive dust great distances, affecting all of the Port Talbot area.

  • Toxic wood sources (including Radioactive)

    Prenergy had originally said that it will source it's woodchip from the Ukraine, in areas where forestry is still badly contaminated from the Chernobyl disaster.

Environmental/Pollution Impacts

  • Disposal of 150,000 tonnes of waste ash

    Nearly 2,000 tonnes of waste ash will need to be removed each day in 17 HGV lorries.

  • Increase in already high pollution levels

    Already zoned as an Air Quality Management area, due to high levels of toxic substances in the air surrounding the steelworks and docks, these power stations will increase pollutions, and be in contradiction to the Councils Air Quality Action Plan.

  • Fallout from a fire on the local environment

    With the risk of a massive fire, comes the risk of air pollution and it's effects on the local environment.

  • Noise Pollution

    Despite noise levels at Port Talbot Docks already near EU limits, this power station will significantly increase noise pollution to local residents.

  • Proximity to dense residential area

    The closest houses are only 250m away, via open space, from the edge of the proposed site. This is a densely populated area, which has also recently seen significant, renewed investment in residential housing.

  • Pollution of beaches from woodchips

    With the renewed investment by the local authority into making the Aberavon Seafront and Beach safer and nicer, it seems to go completely against the regeneration plan to built this monsterous Power station at the end of the seafront/beach.

What do Prenergy Say?

The following extract was taken from the Prenergy Environmental Statement and shows the Company's "efforts" to assess Human Health Impacts.

Just 7 lines. Prenergy is of the view, that there are no significant Human Health Impacts.  This is completely against what we have discovered through our research.