IRISH waste solutions company 3NRG has won approval for a heat treatment power plant that will generate enough electricity to supply 4,000 homes.
The company, part of the FLI Environmental, has acquired the licences to operate a mechanical heat treatment with power plant at Tythegston, Bridgend.
The green light has now been given for the construction of a £25m integrated waste-processing, electricity-generating plant due for completion by early 2010.
The plant will use a combination of steam treatment of solid waste, the recovery of materials for recycling such as plastics, metals and glass, the remaining biomass, derived from the paper, cardboard and food residues, is put through a process known as pyrolysis to produce a gas.
The gas is used to create steam, which drives an electricity-generating turbine and the 4MW of surplus electricity generated will be fed to the national grid.
Michael Flynn, chief executive and founder of FLI Environmental, said: "We expect to build 10 such plants in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland over the next decade as we believe that this is the cleanest and most environmentally sustainable solution to processing residual solid municipal waste.
"This is a closed-loop system which recycles or reuses 95% of solid waste which would otherwise have gone to landfill.
"It also has the smallest possible carbon footprint because it maximises recycling and is the most cost-effective solution for the treatment of residual waste.
"The technology is suited to small-to-medium scale applications facilitating a regional, decentralised approach to waste management, reducing transport costs and impacts."
Micheal Geary, 3NRG business development director, said: "The 3NRG model is particularly attractive from a business perspective as policy, legislation and fiscal measures are all aimed at diverting waste from landfill throughout the European Union.
"Bridgend is ideally located to serve both Cardiff and Swansea and is conveniently accessed from the M4 motorway. The facility will provide a very competitive waste processing service for local authorities and private waste contractors in the South Wales region and will be of enormous benefit in helping them to meet their targets for diverting waste from landfill."
