Latest news with #incinerator
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Portland incinerator: Campaigners welcome Court of Appeal hearing
Campaigners have said they are "delighted" after being granted permission to take their case against the decision to build an incinerator near Dorset's Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site to the Court of April, the High Court dismissed an appeal for a statutory review into Powerfuel Portland's £150m waste incinerator planning application was given the go-ahead by the government last September, despite initially being refused by Dorset Stop Portland Waste Incinerator (SPWI) group has argued the incinerator would cause air pollution and damage the local tourism industry. The incinerator is expected to be able to process up to 202,000 tonnes of household, commercial and skip waste a year, creating enough energy to power about 30,000 site for the incinerator is on land owned by Portland Port, which previously said the plant was "vital to this port's future" by allowing it to offer shore power to docked cruise applied for permission for a Court of Appeal hearing after the High Court failed to grant a statutory review of the campaign group has said the Secretary of State's decision "does not satisfy" Dorset Council's Waste Plan and did not properly apply local planning policy, which requires any waste incineration to be in the most appropriate Debbie Tulett said: "I am absolutely delighted that our argument that the Dorset Waste Plan has not been complied with has finally been recognised and I have been vindicated for pushing this point all the way to the Court of Appeal." Opponents of the scheme include Olympic champion Ellie Aldridge, who said "no-one will want to train" at the nearby National Sailing Academy if an incinerator was Council leader Nick Ireland has also previously said the incinerator would be "throwing out nitrous dioxide, sulphur dioxide, arsenic, nickel, chromium" into the atmosphere and harm the area's tourism Environment Agency granted Powerfuel Portland an environmental permit for the incinerator in February after concluding it had met all of its necessary waste management company has said the facility would not burn hazardous or clinical waste. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
ABC News
7 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Company in charge of proposed incinerator outside Geelong has direct links to the Chinese government
A controversial waste-to-energy project proposed for Geelong's suburban fringe has direct links to two major Chinese state-owned enterprises, it can be revealed. The waste incinerator is designed to burn through 400,000 tonnes of rubbish annually — redirecting the trash from landfill and transforming it into energy for the state's grid. But the proposal has prompted local backlash, with residents concerned the incinerator would be built too close to homes and produce toxic emissions. Community frustrations also centre around the transparency of who is behind the project, as the facility's purported cost balloons from $300 million to $700 million. And while most other Australian waste-to-energy projects have publicised major funding partners, the big bucks behind Lara's incinerator are yet to be revealed — even as Victoria's planning minister considers whether to approve the project. In 2023, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) granted Prospect Hill International a development licence to build a waste-to-energy facility in Lara, about 10km north of Geelong's CBD. The incinerator aims to burn residential, commercial and industrial waste to produce about 35MW of power to be fed into the state's grid — enough, Prospect Hill says, "to power 50,000 homes". It would also be built just over 1km from Lara's town centre, a few hundred metres from the nearest residential doorstep, and its 80m-tall chimney would become the tallest structure in the region. It is one of about a dozen waste-to-energy plants either operating or proposed across Australia, almost all of which are financially backed — or in partnerships — with international companies. The Geelong plan has prompted sustained opposition from local community members, with state and local federal MPs supporting the push to scrap the project. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has said the facility was "utterly inappropriate" and had "no place" in Lara. Community opposition is focused on the facility's proximity to homes and its environmental impact, along with concerns too little is known about who is behind the project. Charles Street, from the No Waste Incinerators in Lara and Greater Geelong group, said the group has had little success in attempts to communicate with Prospect Hill. Speaking at a national parliamentary Environment and Communications References Committee last August, Mr Street said attempts to find who was behind Prospect Hill had turned up little beyond discovering its director was named Jian Qi. "We know very little more than that," Mr Street said. "We've never met Mr Qi; we've never seen him." When asked by the ABC about community concerns over the transparency of Prospect Hill's ownership, Mr Street said: "It's very frustrating, and it's also very, very strange, exceedingly weird actually." Prospect Hill International is a Melbourne-based company registered in 2017, seemingly with the sole purpose of delivering the Lara waste-to-energy facility. Its latest project update from January 2024 assures the community it "proposes to develop a state-of-the-art facility that meets all stringent EPA Victoria and European emissions standards" and promises to keep community members informed as it progresses. Company documents show Prospect Hill has four shareholders — Jian Qi, Wen Dong Huang, Jingchao Pan and former state MP Ken Smith — with Mr Qi listed as its director. The documents show a fifth person, Jing Dong Gao, was previously both a director and majority shareholder of the company. Prospect Hill's business address is a multi-million-dollar home in Deepdene, in Melbourne's inner east — a home owned by Mr Gao and where Mr Qi is listed as living, according to title and business records. Company documents state Mr Huang has a background in the mining and construction development industry, and Mr Qi is a chemical engineer and petrochemical expert, who has previously worked for Petrochina, Shell Global Solutions and GE Oil & Gas. Mr Smith, who served in parliament from 1998 to 2014, is also referred to as a director of Prospect Hill in media responses from the company. The former parliamentary speaker has spent decades building business bridges between Victoria and China, earning honorary citizenships to the Shandong and Jiangsu provinces and an Order of Australia honour for his service to Australia-China relations. A probe of dozens of business documents also shows Prospect Hill has direct connections with two multi-billion-dollar Chinese state-owned conglomerates. In one it states it is using Jiangsu Power Design Institute — a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) — to "provide technical and design services for the proposed plant". CEEC is a multi-billion-dollar company under direct supervision of the Chinese Communist Party's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and has a stated aim to accumulate $16 billion in overseas investments — including through "clean energy" projects. Speaking to the ABC, Mr Smith described JSPDI as Prospect Hill's "joint venture group in China", calling it "the most sophisticated" waste-to-energy company in the world. "We're not messing around with any sort of second-rate engineering company or project companies at all; we've gone for the very best because we want to deliver the best," he said. Everbright International, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Everbright, is also linked to Prospect Hill — with the mammoth group named as a "technology partner" in business documents. Despite the connections to these Chinese state-owned enterprises, Mr Smith emphasises the Lara facility is a local project. "It all looks very Chinese, but it's not Chinese, it's Australian," he said. The waste-to-energy plant was originally estimated as having a $300 million price tag, but Mr Smith told the ABC those costings had ballooned to "probably $700 million". "Prospect Hill International currently possesses adequate capital to progress development and will also pursue strategic partnerships to support the project's full delivery," he said. Mr Smith said Prospect Hill had been approached with investment opportunities from companies in China, the Middle East and Singapore, as well as Australian businesses — but indicated no major formal funding arrangements had yet been made to deliver the project. While Mr Smith would not share specific details on potential financial backers of the project, he did say that money spent so far on the project came from Prospect Hill's directors. "That's our money that's going into it," Mr Smith said. He estimates construction of the facility will begin in 2026-27, and take about three years before the incinerator is operational. Before any of this can occur, the state government must give planning approval to the project. As Victoria's minister for energy and environment, Lily D'Ambrosio has played a key role in guiding the state's push to attract waste to energy projects. Her role has also brought her into contact with one of the Chinese state-owned conglomerates linked to Prospect Hill. An Official Ministerial Overseas Travel Outcomes Report outlines Ms D'Ambrosio's $39,707 taxpayer-supported trip to China in 2017, including a bid to "engage with and encourage investment by Chinese companies in renewable energy projects in Victoria". The trip included meeting one of the state-owned conglomerates connected to the Lara incinerator, China Everbright, "to discuss waste to energy, including CEI's interests in investing in waste to energy in Victoria". Ms D'Ambrosio concluded her report with the expectation her visit would "produce significant and tangible benefits for Victoria in terms of improved relationships and actual investment in Victoria's renewable energy capacity". Foreign investment in Australia is nothing new. According to the Australian Treasury, in the first three months of 2024/25 there were 377 foreign investment proposals approved, worth $46.6 billion. Chinese money made up a fraction of that total, mostly via $400 million in residential property investments. Foreign involvement in Australian waste-to-energy projects is not unique either, with the country's first major waste-to-energy plant in Kwinana owned by multinational conglomerate ACCIONA, headquartered in Spain, and supported by Singapore's Keppel Seghers. Earlier this year a Middle-Eastern consortium was selected by the Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation to deliver the $1.5 billion Parkes Energy Recovery facility. Chinese connections, and potential Chinese investment, in the Prospect Hill project should not be surprising. But, the connections raise questions around oversight — including whether the project would need to be approved by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). Under FIRB thresholds, foreign government investors in any non-land investments are required to submit an investment proposal for review, with limited exceptions. When approached by the ABC, the Treasury declined to say whether a project found to be receiving funding from a Chinese state-owned conglomerate would be required to submit a proposal to the FIRB, nor whether it had received a proposal from Prospect Hill. "Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975, the Government cannot comment on the application of the foreign investment screening arrangements as they apply, or could apply, to a particular case. We are therefore unable to provide the information you are seeking," a statement from the Treasury noted. Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny did not directly respond to questions from the ABC, including whether she was aware of links between Prospect Hill and Chinese state-owned enterprises. A spokesperson for the government instead provided a brief statement, noting: "any proposal will be considered on its merits and all submissions will be considered as part of the assessment process." Do you know more about this story? Contact Harrison Tippet at you're sharing sensitive information, read our tips on how to contact us confidentially.
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Is this Britain's unluckiest village? Durham town was left stinking of rotten eggs from landfill site...now local authorities are introducing an INCINERATOR which residents fear will be just as bad
Families are fighting back against a proposed incinerator they fear will harm schoolchildren, vulnerable people and wildlife with chemicals it produces. Just over a year after a landfill site left Newton Aycliffe, County Durham smelling like rotten eggs, residents say they face another threat to their picturesque village. Plans submitted by Fornax Environmental Solutions were approved in 2021 but swiftly thrown out by the council which was concerned about the incinerator's impact on air quality. There were also fears about burning up to 9,800 tonnes of clinical and hazardous waste a year at a business park long dedicated to attracting companies offering high-paid jobs, including Hitachi and Fujitsu. Now, months later, the project is back on track after a planning inspector approved the firm's appeal. A 10,000-tonne incinerator, which lies within a mile of a nursery, a primary school and a sixth form college, is being built and will be up and running next year. But locals are making a last ditch attempt to stop plans, with a social media campaign gathering pace ahead of a consultation with the Environment Agency. Kate Ridgway, 60, used to live in London and the Cotswolds before heading to the countryside by Newton Aycliffe for its peaceful and picturesque scenery. She told MailOnline: 'It is beautiful here. We have cormorant, ducks, geese all outside our kitchen window. 'They've built this monstrosity a mile from us. It's clearly unsafe and a dumping ground for the north and Scotland. 'What will happen is the lovely River Skerne, which has been raised from the dead [extensively cleaned] in the last 50 years, will go back to how it was before.' She pointed out that it's the latest environmental issue facing the area after locals reported a spate of headaches, skin rashes and nausea last year which they claimed were associated with a new landfill site at nearby Aycliffe Quarry. At the time, residents said the majority of the waste causing the smell, blighting lives in the neighbouring villages of Aycliffe and Brafferton, was being driven 110 miles north from Hull in lorries. Ms Ridgway added: 'We're being dumped on again. They're there to take money and they simply don't care. 'People will have to move, although of course most won't be able to move. 'There's been a slight attitude of, these rich southerners must know what's best for us. Well, wake up, because that really is not the case at all. 'It's a David versus Goliath situation. They're obviously going to make a huge amount of money, or they wouldn't be interested. 'They would never do this in Chipping Norton - I've lived there.' Fornax insisted the site will 'meet and exceed all UK and EU strict rules on air emissions, odour control, and habitat protection'. The company added that the incinerator will burn between 8,600 and 9,800 tonnes of waste per year, of which around 6,000 tonnes will be 'infectious' and 3,000 tonnes 'hazardous'. Rachel Weighell, 51, lives in the nearest housing estate to the incinerator, just 500m from the site, with her 14-year-old son. She claimed that residents' main frustration was a lack of information regarding the nature of the waste that will be burned. Ms Weighell said: 'These companies can't tell us what they're putting into the atmosphere. Surely it has to be a no until something is in black and white. 'We know that in other parts of the country that mother's breast milk has been contaminated because they live next to an incinerator, and obviously the child is taking the milk from their mother, and that is passing on things. 'It is taking the likes of me, who is no better, richer or cleverer than anyone else, to physically get leaflets that somebody in my community has paid for out of their own pocket, to get them printed and distributed, just for people to go look what may be happening. 'We need it postponed or suspended to give time for solicitors, lawyers, researchers and volunteers to get specific black and white information.' Ms Weighell, who has lived in the area her entire life, is also worried about agriculture and local schools, including Little Cubs Day Nursery in the shadow of the proposed 10,000-tonne High Temperature Incineration facility. 'I work for the biggest agricultural manufacturer in the country, Mole Valley Farmers, and we are having feed for animals made on our site at Piercebridge,' she said. 'We're putting that feed into every farm in the North East of England that buy from us. What are the animals eating if all of this is in the air? 'What about the children at nursery schools? There are, I think, 17 nursery schools within 12 miles. What about the primary schools, the sixth form colleges?' Ms Weighell added that the incinerator is being fought by working class people who are worried about their livelihoods. She said: 'People are on the bread line, they are earning not much more than minimum wage, and they are putting what they can towards this because they care so passionately. 'What if my five bedroom house that's currently valued at nearly £400,000, was to go on the market in six months. If this was passed, I might not get half of that. 'I lost my husband to cancer two months ago, I've got a 14-year-old son who goes to the local comprehensive, I can't sell my house, I'm living on a single, poorly paid wage from an agricultural company and just need to feed and protect my family to the best of my ability.' She also pointed out that the Treasury's Darlington Economic Campus, which opened in 2021, lies just six miles from the incinerator. 'What happens when Keir Starmer wants to come and visit Darlington?' she added. 'What if the Treasury is up here and he has to put a mask on?' Mark Henderson, 50, has lived in the area since he was 13 and used to work on the industrial park on which the current business district now stands. 'One of the key things is that Aycliffe is a business park,' he said. 'A clinical and hazardous incinerator is not something you expect to see on a business park. 'It is 600 metres away from a UTC College, one of the first in the country, to drive the challenge between education and industry. 'You've got pupils in there that are coming in to grow themselves to be leaders within industry and work within industry, and yet you put them under the plume of a hazardous waste incinerator. 'The challenge is the immediate business park, the immediate school, the immediate nursery. There's a church and two secondary schools in Newton Aycliffe, and 1000s and 1000s of residents, including elderly and people with health concerns. 'We've got two farms within a very small radius which have cattle and crops. We've got a cattle market, which is a brand new investment by Darlington Council. 'We're not being told the truth. The original planning application was turned down and, very secretly and quietly, they got it passed off without anybody really knowing about it. And if it wasn't for the fact they had to go for their operations licence, nobody would really know about it. He also drew attention to the Aycliffe Quarry landfill site, as well as a similarly new methane facility, called Warrens Emerald Biogas, at the business park. The father-of-three added: 'We've got the landfill site which is horrific when you drive down the A1 and you come off on the Newton Aycliffe junction. It's causing the residents of a village called Brafferton absolute hell. 'We've also got a methane facility and the smell is going across Newton Aycliffe, if you want another one in the mix, just for the fancy of it. 'It just stinks, in two ways. 'It's not the classic, "not in my backyard", it's "not in many people's backyards". Mr Henderson joins many residents in being disappointed by a lack of jobs created by the proposed site, with Fornax confirming just 40 people will be hired. 'It's an absolute joke. What does it bring into the area? Absolute hell for everybody who lives there.' Mark Appleby, meanwhile, has two children and lives just over a mile away from the incinerator site. The 53-year-old army veteran said: 'There are no positives at all. My main negative feelings are the lack of transparency, the lack of public knowledge about this, and my dealings with Durham County Council which have led me to believe that it's been slid under the door. 'Why does nobody know about this? The business right next to it, Aycliffe animal feed. They didn't even know what it was. 'The jungle drums are beating around the local populace. Nobody's happy about it. 'It's just worrying, it's a lovely area, it's green belt, it's heritage land. We're right in the middle of a specialised opportunity area for protected species and things like newts and glow worms. 'It's going to affect farmers. The ground penetration, down to mineral level, is going to affect all the food that grows in that ground. The cattle that graze on the ground will not be able to take the milk. 'There's a lot of investors, like myself, I probably put about £350,000 in the house recently. 'And I'm worried for the children. I'm worried for my future, my health, the family's health, everybody else's as well. 'I rang my friend in conservation for advice and his first words were, "move house", and I thought, "wow".' An upcoming consultation with the Environment Agency (EA) has been moved from June 16 to an unconfirmed date due to a sudden surge of interest in attending. But Mr Appleby holds out little hope that the body, due to be represented by six officers in an eight-hour drop-in format, will use their power to stop the project. He added: 'I've dealt with the EA before with the landfill site and there was no strength involved. It was all very woke and "no blame culture".' Conservative Councillor Gerald Lee is also worried about the lack of information about the nature of the waste being burned. He added that Fornax had said there was 'no statutory requirement to report what's going on at the site' but they might make such reports on a 'voluntary basis'. 'It is causing a lot of consternation, frustration, and, dare I say, anger as it hasn't got the permit yet,' he said. Cllr Lee also expressed concerns over what happens when the wind does not blow in the area and emissions are not able to spread out. 'We've been told the wind would disperse the emissions away,' he said. 'What happens on those still days when the wind isn't blowing? 'We're talking about particles, which are heavier than air and will come straight down. What happens when it rains, particularly in this modern day and age with torrential downpour, which will sweep the particles to Earth? Or when it snows? 'It will be falling on the factories, it'll be falling in the fields where our animals are and ultimately will be fed into the rivers and washed into the sea. 'One of the reasons I've asked the Environment Agency to come down is that the residents need to know on what grounds they can object.' A spokesman for Fornax said: 'We do not believe it is appropriate to comment on the environmental permit application at this time other than to say that we have provided all the required documentation to the regulator in advance of their detailed technical review. 'Public and environmental safety is our number one priority and the new facility in Newton Aycliffe has already undergone extensive scrutiny and was approved by the planning Inspector following an enquiry in 2022. 'During this process residents concerns were carefully considered and addressed by the governments planning inspector. The facility has been designed and built to meet and indeed exceed all UK and EU strict rules on air emissions, odour control, and habitat protection. 'The fears concerning the impact that this facility will have on air quality and future employment uses are unfounded as clearly stated in the planning inspectors report.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Relief' at rejection of incinerator plan
Campaigners have said they are "relieved" a proposal to build an incinerator that would have burned up to 260,000 tonnes of waste a year has been rejected by councillors. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council's planning committee voted to turn down the application from MVV Environmental Ltd to construct the energy-from-waste facility at Canford Resource Park near Bournemouth. It would have burned non-recyclable and non-hazardous domestic, commercial and industrial waste to generate electricity. Opponents had raised concerns about levels of air pollution and a "six-mile toxic plume" from the plant. MVV Environmental's proposals said the plant would have provided 28.5MW of electricity to businesses at Churchill Magna Business Park as well as to Arena Way and Magna Road. The council said 469 objections had been received during the planning process. They included objections to building on green belt land, issues over transporting waste into the site and removing residue, as well as air pollution and its impact on nearby Canford Heath. Council planners had recommended the scheme be approved but it was rejected by the committee by six votes to three. Following the meeting, Frank Ahern from local campaign group MagWatch said he was "cock-a-hoop" at the decision. "People will be absolutely thrilled and relieved. A lot of young mothers were distraught at the thought of this going through and the effect it would have on their children. "The answer is not incinerating - it's recycling more effectively," he added. Joanna Bury of Wimborne Extinction Rebellion said: "I am so relieved. The community was so frightened of this happening. "We are so grateful to all the councillors who stood up for the people of Dorset, for all the worried families and for nature." Resident Natalie Clarke who lives less than a mile from the proposed plant had earlier said the issue was "emotional" "My concern is what affect will this have on my family, especially our young children, breathing in these toxic fumes 24-7. The long-term effects could be devastating". Speaking during the meeting, Paul Carey of MVV Environmental insisted the company would be a "good neighbour". "Please be assured of our intentions to work responsibly in our community and environment," he told councillors. In a statement following the decision, the company said: ""We will need to wait for the publication of the official reasons for refusal, and to see if the Secretary of State intends to intervene, before deciding whether to appeal." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Incinerator proposal rejected by council Proposed incinerator is granted environmental permit Views wanted on waste incinerator plans BCP Council
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Relief' at rejection of incinerator plan
Campaigners have said they are "relieved" a proposal to build an incinerator that would have burned up to 260,000 tonnes of waste a year has been rejected by councillors. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council's planning committee voted to turn down the application from MVV Environmental Ltd to construct the energy-from-waste facility at Canford Resource Park near Bournemouth. It would have burned non-recyclable and non-hazardous domestic, commercial and industrial waste to generate electricity. Opponents had raised concerns about levels of air pollution and a "six-mile toxic plume" from the plant. MVV Environmental's proposals said the plant would have provided 28.5MW of electricity to businesses at Churchill Magna Business Park as well as to Arena Way and Magna Road. The council said 469 objections had been received during the planning process. They included objections to building on green belt land, issues over transporting waste into the site and removing residue, as well as air pollution and its impact on nearby Canford Heath. Council planners had recommended the scheme be approved but it was rejected by the committee by six votes to three. Following the meeting, Frank Ahern from local campaign group MagWatch said he was "cock-a-hoop" at the decision. "People will be absolutely thrilled and relieved. A lot of young mothers were distraught at the thought of this going through and the effect it would have on their children. "The answer is not incinerating - it's recycling more effectively," he added. Joanna Bury of Wimborne Extinction Rebellion said: "I am so relieved. The community was so frightened of this happening. "We are so grateful to all the councillors who stood up for the people of Dorset, for all the worried families and for nature." Resident Natalie Clarke who lives less than a mile from the proposed plant had earlier said the issue was "emotional" "My concern is what affect will this have on my family, especially our young children, breathing in these toxic fumes 24-7. The long-term effects could be devastating". Speaking during the meeting, Paul Carey of MVV Environmental insisted the company would be a "good neighbour". "Please be assured of our intentions to work responsibly in our community and environment," he told councillors. In a statement following the decision, the company said: ""We will need to wait for the publication of the official reasons for refusal, and to see if the Secretary of State intends to intervene, before deciding whether to appeal." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Incinerator proposal rejected by council Proposed incinerator is granted environmental permit Views wanted on waste incinerator plans BCP Council
