Controversial plans to convert a mothballed coal-fired power station into a waste incinerator have been denounced by climate activists.
Uskmouth Power Station on West Nash Road, Newport, is currently the subject of a planning application to convert the site into an incinerator which burns "waste-derived" fuel pellets to generate electricity.
Earlier this month, Welsh Government ministers issued a holding directive barring Newport City Council's planning committee from approving the application.
In an open letter to the Welsh Government, environmental group Friends of the Earth Cymru said they supported the move and urged ministers to "call in" the plans.
The letter claimed that, were the project to go ahead, the site would produce "an eye-wateringly massive 1,550,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually for the next 20 years".
"This would be equivalent, in climate terms, of adding another 68% of Welsh car emissions onto the annual greenhouse gas emissions from Wales," the letter said.
"We would like to thank you for acting so swiftly earlier this month to issue a ‘holding direction’ to Newport council’s planning committee once we asked you to call in the proposals.
"We were shocked to see that Newport officials were recommending the proposals be given the go ahead.
"We are aware that you are now in the period of determining whether to officially call in the proposal and we would like to formally request again that you do call in this proposal and then say no to the scheme."
The Uskmouth Power Station conversion project proposes to generate electricity from waste-derived fuel pellets, creating a what is described as a “world first” blueprint for other coal-fired power stations to follow.
The proposals under consideration include erecting silos, conveyors, a de-dusting plant and an extension to a rail unloading shed.
In a Newport City Council planning meeting on February 3, planning officer Joanne Davidson said: “The council received a holding directive from Welsh Government in relation to Uskmouth Power Station.
“The local authority is barred from favourably determining the application at the current time.”
The RSPB has raised concerns over the impact on nature within and next to the application site and the potential for poor air quality.
The Welsh Government will decide whether to approve the call-in request within 21 days of the issuing of the directive, or it will be handed back to the city council for a final decision.
A spokesperson for Simec Atlantis Energy (SAE), the firm behind the plans, said: "The Coal fired power station at Uskmouth has been a feature of the skyline since the 1960s and remains an example of visionary architecture and world class engineering.
"This iconic power station whilst not in service can readily be recommissioned to provide critical power to the National Grid.
"SAE wants to re-purpose this power station to move away from coal and take fuel pellets that reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and help tackle the growing landfill crisis in Wales and the UK.
"The fuel pellets are made from a blend of biogenic materials and plastics that can’t be recycled and mostly end up in landfill.
"By repurposing the existing station and infrastructure to no longer run on coal the project will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, prevent over 1.3 million tonnes of waste going to landfill, create over 400 jobs during the repurposing phase, and create over 100 jobs in the ongoing operation and maintenance of the plant over the plant lifetime.
"The project will help support the growth of new industries in Newport, save and create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support the global transition to a net zero economy."
