Some of our members attended the public meeting on Monday 2nd November at the Quaker Meeting House in town to discussion a potential biofuel power station application by the company Rocpower.
Almuth Ernsting from Biofuelwatch attended the meeting to discuss the implications of Rocpower's plans and to share experience of campaigns against different biofuel power station applications
Background:
Hargreaves Services, through their subsidiary Rocpower, are planning to build six biofuel power stations with a total capacity of 60 MW across Yorkshire. One of them is planned in Ecclesfield. It is thought that the company intends to burn virgin (i.e. not recycled) vegetable oil. Their Sheffield application does not mention any particular type of vegetable oil, however another similar application of theirs which has been approved in Wakefield clearly states that they intend to burn palm oil. Given that all the fuel will be supplied through another Hargreaves subsidiary, it seems likely that palm oil will be at least part of the mix in Sheffield too.
Three other vegetable oil power station applications have recently been refused by local authorities (Ealing, Newport, Portland), amidst concerns about the impacts on the climate, on forests and peatlands, on communities including indigenous peoples, and on food security.
Almuth Ernsting from Biofuelwatch attended the meeting to discuss the implications of Rocpower's plans and to share experience of campaigns against different biofuel power station applications
Background:
Hargreaves Services, through their subsidiary Rocpower, are planning to build six biofuel power stations with a total capacity of 60 MW across Yorkshire. One of them is planned in Ecclesfield. It is thought that the company intends to burn virgin (i.e. not recycled) vegetable oil. Their Sheffield application does not mention any particular type of vegetable oil, however another similar application of theirs which has been approved in Wakefield clearly states that they intend to burn palm oil. Given that all the fuel will be supplied through another Hargreaves subsidiary, it seems likely that palm oil will be at least part of the mix in Sheffield too.
Three other vegetable oil power station applications have recently been refused by local authorities (Ealing, Newport, Portland), amidst concerns about the impacts on the climate, on forests and peatlands, on communities including indigenous peoples, and on food security.