Frequently Asked Questions

• WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR AN ENERGYPARK?

The UK faces the double challenge of climate change and – now both oil and gas from the North Sea are on the decline – energy security.

Action on climate change is urgently needed to prevent widespread human suffering, ecological catastrophes, and political and economic instability.  As a result, the EU has introduced legally-binging targets for member states.  The UK will have to generate about 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 to meet its obligation for energy supplied for heat, transport and electricity.

The UK has therefore developed a ‘Low Carbon Transition Plan’ which includes increasing our renewable energy generation from its current level of 6% to 30% by 2020.

The much-needed shift to a low-carbon economy will be one of the defining issues of the 21st century and renewable energy power stations such as ours will help drive forward this transition and help prevent the lights from going out!

• WHY WINGLANDS?

We examined many alternative sites in the area and concluded that the Winglands site,  by virtue of its scale,  proximity to the National Grid, good transportation links and availability, was perfectly suited for a PREL EnergyPark development.   The overriding motivation for selecting Winglands was its ‘Planning Status’.   The entire site (and beyond) is already formally allocated in the South Holland District Council (SHDC) Local Plan for industrial/employment development and an EnergyPark use is therefore,  in principle,  a conforming use.

• WHAT FUEL WILL THE ENERGYPARK USE?

The EnergyPark for Sutton Bridge will use biomass as a fuel.  Unlike mixed waste, this is a natural, clean fuel that comes in a number of forms; it could be woodchips, logs, sawdust, compost tailings, forestry residue, straw, sustainable forestry produce or energy crops.

Biomass is a valuable and efficient source of fuel, which will help us to meet our national target of producing 30% of all of our energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The biomass content of the fuel is strictly monitored by Ofgem through regular and stringent testing of samples.

• HOW DOES BIOMASS COMPARE WITH OTHER RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES?

Many sustainable energy sources are intermittent, for example wind, solar and tidal, so the power is not necessarily generated when it is most needed.  By contrast, biomass power stations like the EnergyPark can generate power whenever it is needed.

The EnergyPark will also generate much more electricity than wind or solar devices for the land area used.  About 100 very large wind turbines would be needed to generate the same amount of electricity as the EnergyPark – and they would have a height of about 135 metres (440 feet) from the ground to the tip of the blades!  For comparison, a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet is 71 metres (231 feet) long.

• WHAT ACTUALLY IS BIOMASS?

Biomass is biological material derived from recently living plants, animals, fungi or algae.  The EnergyPark at Sutton Bridge will only use plant-based materials.

Biomass is a sustainable energy source because it is replaceable in the short-term.  Biomass energy is also considered carbon-neutral because trees and other plants imbibe as much carbon dioxide while they are living as is emitted when they are gasified, so there is no net gain in carbon dioxide.

• WILL BIOMASS BE SOURCED LOCALLY?

We are very keen to create positive opportunities for the local community.     If it is economically viable, we will get as much fuel for the EnergyPark from as close to the site as possible.  This can include working with local farmers to take their straw and encouraging them to grow the most efficient energy crops.

We are currently examining the potential for growing a very fast growing tree (not GM) in the UK and if trials indicate that the yield per acre is high enough in our climate, we will seek to collaborate with local farmers and land owners to create an element of ‘home grown fuel’.

• WILL YOU BE BURNING WASTE?

No we won’t.  This is an application for a biomass EnergyPark.  We cannot take in other products as this would be a direct violation of our planning permit and environmental permit.  Everything that goes in and out of the EnergyPark will be closely monitored.  Were we to burn waste we would also lose our Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) and this element is central to our business model.

A Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) is a certificate issued to an accredited generator for eligible renewable electricity generated within England or Wales and supplied to customers within the United Kingdom by a licensed electricity supplier.  One and a half ROCs are issued for each megawatt hour (MWh) of eligible renewable output generated from biomass.

• WILL THERE BE A SMELL FROM THE SITE?

There will be little or no detectable odour from the site as all processing takes place inside pressure controlled buildings.   There will be no stockpiling of fuel in the open air – this will be a condition of our Planning and Permitting and will be strictly enforced by the Authorities.  The buildings are under constant negative pressure meaning that the surrounding air will be drawn into the building envelope and exhausting at high level.   Additionally, the facility will also be fitted with odour detection and control systems to ensure that the working environment is of the highest quality.

• WILL THE ENERGYPARK CAUSE ‘LIGHT POLLUTION’?

We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously indeed and will engage specialist lighting consultants to design and implement  a site-wide lighting scheme that is both energy efficient and minimises the unwanted effects of light pollution and migration.

Specifically, the design will make use of ‘best available technology’ to avoid over-illumination, light clutter and glare whilst minimising so called ‘sky glow’.  We take the view that light should only shine where it is needed and wanted and nowhere else.  Doing so is actually both easy and cost effective and creates significant health and safety benefits.

• WILL THE ENERGY PARK PRODUCE HARMFUL TOXINS AND EMISSIONS?

No.  The fuel will be clean and without chemicals like chlorine, sulphur and fluorine that can result in toxins when burned.  Because the EnergyPark will not burn waste, there will be no materials like PVC plastic or batteries that can result in toxins emissions.

Nevertheless, we are taking the ‘belt and braces’ approach of including gas cleaning and continuous emissions monitoring equipment so that if any contaminated fuel were burnt inadvertently, the flue gas would automatically be cleaned to remove any toxins and harmful emissions.

The emission standards that will be imposed by the Environment Agency are extremely stringent.  For example, the emission limits for dust and sulphur are about half that permitted under new very stringent European legislation for coal power stations.  Also, unlike fossil fuel power stations, the EnergyPark will continuously monitor emissions for the presence of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride, and regularly measure for any emissions of heavy metals and dioxins.

We are completely open about all aspects of the functioning of the EnergyPark Sutton Bridge and our monitoring and analysis of emissions will be publicly available.

• HOW WILL FUEL BE TRANSPORTED TO AND FROM THE ENERGYPARK?

The Energy Park will be serviced by lorries and we would estimate there to be 80 trucks coming in and out per day.  Department for Transport figures estimate the daily average traffic flows in both directions on the A17 in both directions to be 16,000 vehicle movements.  Trucks to and from the Energy Park would therefore only represent a very small increase in vehicle movements.  Compared to most other forms of industrial development, the Energy Park is actually a very low generator of vehicle movements considering that it will occupy 64 acres of industrial land.  By way of comparison, the adjacent haulage depot of just 1.8 acres has the capacity for up to 140 lorry movements per day.

• HOW WILL IT BENEFIT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY?
  

There are many ways in which the Sutton Bridge EnergyPark will benefit the local community:

Job Creation – during the construction phase around 300 jobs will be created at the EnergyPark, and once operational, we will train and employ 80-90 skilled ‘green collar’ workers.

Community Investment – each year for 15 years we will give £300,000 to an independently appointed Social Responsibility Committee in Sutton Bridge, which will be made up of local residents, activists and businesses.  The Committee will invite applications for the fund and decide where the money should best be spent.

Biodiversity – we take the local ecology very seriously and the EnergyPark will encourage greater biodiversity in the area, with a seeded roof and hundreds of square metres of ponds created.

Renewable Energy – last but not least, the EnergyPark will create clean, renewable energy.

• WILL THESE LORRIES BE TRAVELLING THROUGH SUTTON BRIDGE?

Absolutely not.  We understand that lorries coming through the village would cause a massive inconvenience to the local community.  That is not we are here to do.  For this reason we have committed to have a planning condition that no lorries travelling to or from the EnergyPark would be permitted to travel through the village.  We will even fit our drivers’ vehicles with GPS tracking systems to ensure that they abide by this rule.

• WILL THE EXISTING JUNCTION COPE?

Yes it will.  Enquiries with Lincolnshire Highways and work done by our own highway engineers, confirms that the existing junction has the capacity to serve the 100 + acres of allocated industrial/employment land that it was designed for.

Notwithstanding the abundance of capacity, we acknowledge the concerns that have been expressed about the junction and are more than happy to make sensible improvements subject to the County Council’s agreement.

Deliveries to and from the EnergyPark  Sutton Bridge will be planned to avoid peak hour traffic on the A17.  We are proposing a substantial fuel store on the site that will allow us great flexibility in terms of vehicle logistics.

• WILL YOU USE THE PORT?

We originally thought that using Sutton Bridge Port would be welcomed by the local community, but it seems that this is not the case mainly because of the potential disturbances resulting from transporting materials from the Port to the site.  Our ambitions in terms of water-borne transportation now centre around Port Kings Lynn and Wisbech Port.

• HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO BUILD AND WHEN COULD WORK BEGIN?

In the event that our planning application is determined favourably, we plan to break ground in the Spring of 2012 with a build programme of around three years.

• WILL THE ENERGYPARK OPERATE DAY AND NIGHT?

The EnergyPark, like all solid fuel and nuclear power stations, will be operated 24/7 as a ‘base load’ generating facility (although fuel deliveries will take place when most convenient to the local community taking into account peak hour traffic and vehicle noise).

Gas and oil power stations are more suited to frequent stops and starts, so they are used to top up the electricity supply at times of peak demand (this is known as ‘topping cycle duty’).

• IS THIS ONE BIG EXPERIMENT?

Not at all.  PREL only uses tried, tested and robust technology, which is working effectively – albeit in different configurations – in other parts of the country and the world.  We already have planning consent for a far bigger EnergyPark which will be built in Peterborough.

• WHAT ABOUT FUTURE EXPANSION OF THE PLANT?

Any land that could be utilised for future expansion is already allocated for industrial development and would, of course, be subject to normal Planning and Environmental Permitting controls –  all of which would take proper account of issues such as visual impact, traffic and emissions.  PREL does not own any further land in or around Sutton Bridge.