26/02/2010 (New Energy Focus) - An application for a £70 million biomass plant in Avonmouth, which would burn up to 90,000 tonnes of vegetable oil per annum, was rejected by Bristol city council's planning committee on Wednesday (February 24) after it received 1,119 objections to the proposal.

Project applicant, Buckinghamshire based W4B Bristol Ltd, had hoped to build a facility capable of generating 50MW of electricity at the former Columbian Chemicals (Sevalco) site, off Severn Road in Avonmouth.

The site covers around 5 hectares, with the nearest residential development approximately1,000 metres away.

However, more than 1,000 residents raised concerns about the sustainability of the oils to be used in the plant and the potentially harmful impact of biofuels such as palm oil on climate, rainforests and other ecosystems.

The majority of letters were based on a template created by BioFuel Watch, who actively support a campaign for the EU to suspend biofuels from large scale fields composed of single crops.

According to BioFuel Watch, W4B Bristol Ltd had claimed in its planning application that the biofuels it would be likely to burn included palm oil and Jatropha oil, which comes from countries such as Tanzania and Ghana.

This led to objections on the grounds of the significant amount of land that would be required for palm oil plantations - which residents claimed could lead to deforestation and significant carbon emissions - as well as concerns about air quality in the local area.

Against a recommendation to grant planning permission subject to conditions, councillors on the North Area development control committee rejected the application based on concerns relating to the potential fuel source and its impact on the people of countries such as Tanzania and Ghana.

Committee members felt strongly that we live in an age when they have to consider the impact beyond the city's boundary Bristol city council While the production of the fuel source itself does not fall within the remit of the Local Planning Authority decision-making process, Bristol city council said it applied local sustainability policies, which require the council to "Think Globally, Act Locally" in ensuring sustainable development.

A council spokeswoman said: "It is unusual to consider the impact of Bristol development on places so far away, so the committee is blazing a trail, Thinking Globally and Acting Locally.

"Committee members felt strongly that we live in an age when they have to consider the impact beyond the city's boundary."

W4B Bristol Ltd
W4B Bristol Ltd had proposed to construct six 8.9MW engines to be housed within the stationary power plant with a maximum capacity of 50MW. It also aimed to build a series of emission stacks, with the tallest being 27 metres.

The vegetable oils would have been transported to the site via an existing pipeline which connects the site to the Bristol Port.