A PUBLIC meeting has been told an organic power plant proposed for Monmouth is in an unsuitable location.

 The meeting, attended by over 50 people at Monmouth's Shire Hall were told of Crossdean Ltd's plans for a renewable energy plant being planned for Hadnock Road, the light industrial area of the town.

The company claims that the pyrolysis power plant – pyrolysis being the thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen – would generate renewable heat and electricity for around 4,000 to 5,000 homes by burning 40,000 tonnes per year of locally-sourced mixed waste wood.

But guest speaker George Boyce, an industrial chemist for 40 years said: "This amount of burning wood would generate 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This process will be pushing up 265 tonnes a day into the atmosphere.

"Quite apart from these high emissions, the amount of extra traffic generated will cause problems to other users of Hadnock Road, especially the walkers and cyclists and those attending the Grange School."

He added that the information supplied on the planning application was scant and pointed out that the company had used out of date data with its calculations especially those for the emissions by using information from Herefordshire.

Dr Dick van Steenis a retired GP and an expert on health problems caused by harmful emissions said: "European directives on these issues declare that we must have the latest technology to protect public health. These plans are old hat and are not suitable for use in a valley.

"If a plant like this is located in a valley then it has to have an extremely high chimney to carry the emissions out of the valley. A chimney rising above the Kymin would be impractical at best."

From the audience Tamzin Powell said: "There is not one example of a power plant of this nature working successfully. There is Crossdean's example at Huntingdon, which was a serious disaster, because apart from the noise of the wood being ground into pellets and its overriding smell, it was closed down because of a serious fire."

Clive Pidoux added: "This is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so we are told and the area certainly doesn't need this plant.  What's not being considered is the farm supply company also relocating to this area, generating its own extra traffic."

Cllr Bob Haywood said: "40,000 tonnes of pallets is an unbelievable amount and its far more than Monmouthshire could ever use and therefore they would have to arrive from all over the country. In the end the company would be importing the majority of it and it will make a nonsense of trying to say its green energy, when you have to pollute the environment in getting the material here."

Peter Beer, who has developed an alternative hydro energy producing power plant offered an alternative solution similar to the one operating locally in Osbaston.

The meeting concluded with another planned for the future if the campaigners can get a representative from Crossdean to outline their plans in detail.