11th February 2023
The Planning Inspectorate is currently looking at a proposal for a large facility – the ‘Green Energy Park’ at Flixborough – a waste incinerator with add-ons to make use of the heat and ash generated. But how green is the ‘Green Energy Park’?
North Lincs Green Party research has found that:
1. In the applicant’s own statement, the actual emissions are enormous, making it North Lincolnshire’s 6th largest emitter.
2. The proposal claims it will create electrical power from the heat generated by burning the waste, thereby lowering its impact, but ignores the fact that any new power generation today is likely to be by clean renewables such as wind or solar power with near-zero emissions.
3. Any carbon capture and storage that may happen in the future is limited to only 1% of emissions, making claims of a ‘Green Energy Park’ a nonsense. ‘Greenwash Energy Park’ would be a more fitting description.
4. Too many incinerators in the UK results in less recycling of waste, as when more waste is burnt, the profits for the owners increase. There are enough incinerators in the UK already.
5. The majority of waste will be brought in by road with all the associated emissions and noise for local residents. Rail will only be used later if an operator can be found and if it is cheaper than by road.
Is North Lincolnshire Council for or Against the Incinerator?
There appears to be conflicting information on whether the political leadership within the council is for or against the new incinerator. The leader of the council claims to be against it if sited at Flixborough, but the applicant claims to be in talks with the council about sale of council-owned land for the development there.
What Does North Lincs Green Party Say?
North Lincs Green Party opposes the use of incineration of waste whether it is at Flixborough or the South Humber bank for the following reasons:
1. It relies on a continuous stream of waste to be produced to feed it, taking the focus away from reducing waste, reusing unwanted items and materials and recycling. If the proposed incinerator at Flixborough is built, the resulting over-capacity of incinerators in the UK will only make this worse.
2. This proposal relies on the unproven technology of carbon capture to make it greener, but the amounts proposed to be captured and stored are tiny, making it little more than ‘greenwash’.
3. North Lincolnshire’s CO2 emissions will significantly increase as a result of this new facility instead of the required reduction of more than 14% each year to meet targets to limit climate change.
More detailed information is given here.