'Yes' to chicken power

Eastern Daily Press, 12 February 2004

Plans for the UK's first renewable power plant fuelled entirely by chicken waste have won approval from the Environment Agency.

Now Banham Poultry, based in Attleborough, is hoping to clear the last major hurdle and get planning permission for the £10m project from Norfolk County Council.

The approval from the Environment Agency, under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regulations, means health and environmental issues such as emissions, odour, noise and traffic, have been cleared as safe.

Banham Poultry says the scheme is in line with the UK's commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase the use of renewable energy.

It will also safeguard 750 jobs at Banham Poultry by offering a sustainable solution to the problem of disposing of animal by-products which, since BSE, has become an increasing cost for all meat and poultry businesses.

The project uses advanced technology, known as pyrolysis and gasification, and heats the dried by-products under contained, oxygen-free conditions to release a combustible gas, which is used to generate electricity.

Company director, Robin Goram, said it was vital that the project succeeded.

"By transforming animal by-products into clean, renewable energy, we believe this project is of strategic significance - not only for reducing waste and boosting renewable energy supplies, but also for the future competitiveness of our food and farming industries. "

"Norfolk has a stated ambition to be a leader in waste reduction, and a pioneering centre for alternative energy."

The company has launched a new energy division, Banham Power, and if permission is granted the plant could be up and running within a year.

Chicken litter is already used to produce power at Fibrowatt plants at Thetford and Eye, but this would be the first time in this country, and possibly the world, that poultry waste such as feathers, heads and guts, was used.

The plant could handle up to 1200 tonnes of waste a week, producing 5.5 megawatts of electricity - enough to supply 7000 households in the area.

It would create up to 20 new jobs and could be capable of recycling the by-products of other local processors.

However, the scheme has already faced opposition.

The proposed location is on the site of the firm's former factory at Bunn's Bank, just outside the town, which was destroyed by fire in 1998.

When the project was announced in 2002, local residents were concerned about noise, smell and traffic and in October Breckland District Council said it should be refused.

District councillor Adrian Stasiak said although it was probably a good idea, people were still "very uneasy" about the siting of the scheme and thought it was the wrong location.

A meeting is to be held next week between the firm, the district and county councils about the planning application.

Visit www.banhampower.com