A PLANNING application for a waste incinerator plant on Portland has been submitted to Dorset Council.

Powerfuel has submitted plans for a £100 million Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at Portland Port. The power plant will use waste as a fuel to produce 15MW of low carbon energy, enough to power around 30,000 homes. 

Steve McNab, director at Powerfuel, said: “This application is the result of months of work to deliver a sustainable solution to Dorset’s and the UK’s waste problem. There is major under-capacity in the UK for ERFs, with 2.7 million tonnes of waste exported to the EU every year and 14.5 million tonnes still being sent to landfill. 

“All of Dorset’s residual waste (after recycling) is currently sent out of the county and/or country for processing. The Portland ERF will take up to 202,000 tonnes per annum of refuse derived fuel (RDF) and use it to generate low carbon energy, reducing the need to use fossil fuels such as coal and gas. In the era of climate emergency, we need to manage our waste better and increase our use of low carbon sources to generate electricity. We are really proud that Powerfuel Portland will be a net zero carbon project as any carbon produced from the process will be offset.” 

The plans were first revealed during a public event last December and were met by mixed reaction. Campaigners were concerned about the increase in traffic and pollution the plant could bring to the area.

Giles Frampton, director at Powerfuel, said: “During our pre-application consultation with local residents there was some unease about the emissions levels from the facility’s stack. To further limit the potential that emissions from the ERF could have any measurable impact on air quality or local ecology, Powerfuel has increased the height of the stack to improve the emission dispersion. We have also gone to great lengths to limit any visual impact from the facility and our revised architectural designs show the facility will be in-keeping with its surroundings.” 

Powerfuel estimates that the development will create around 300 jobs during the construction phase and then 30 direct jobs and around 60 indirect jobs. Preliminary discussions have also begun with Weymouth College to establish apprenticeships for local young people. It is anticipated that the proposed ERF will offer two apprenticeship positions, ongoing during its operation.