OREANDA-NEWS. Multifuel Energy Ltd (MEL), a 50:50 joint venture between SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies Inc., is pleased to announce that the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has officially accepted its Development Consent Order (DCO) application to build a second Multifuel project at the Ferrybridge Power Station site, known as Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2).

The DCO planning application now enters the pre-examination phase, which gives people the opportunity to register their interest and participate in the public meetings by sharing their views on the proposals. PINS formally notified MEL on 20 August, following a detailed three week review of the DCO documentation to establish whether the application had reached the required standards and could progress into the examination phase.

MEL's DCO application is seeking permission to build the FM2 Power Station on land adjacent to the existing Ferrybridge 'C' coal fired power station and opposite the first multifuel plant (FM1) which is currently under construction. FM2 will be capable of generating and exporting circa 70MW of electricity annually to the National Grid; enough to supply around 160,000 homes.* The energy will be produced using fuel from various sources of processed municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste and also waste wood.

Iain Pybus, Development Manager for the FM2 project said “Multifuel Energy Ltd is delighted that the Planning Inspectorate has accepted our application, following careful consideration of all aspects, including the consultation that we have carried out with the local community over the past 12 months. I would encourage anyone who has an opinion on the project to register their intent to make representation to PINS during the pre-examination stage. This will allow you the opportunity to be involved during the examination stage itself, which we expect towards the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015”

Now that the FM2 DCO has been accepted by PINS, there are a number of ways that the public can get involved in the examination process. Firstly there is the pre-examination, where individuals or third parties can register interest, be kept informed of progress and l have opportunities to put forward their views. To ensure all areas of interest can be examined, a Preliminary Meeting date will be announced, which will also set the timetable for the public examination hearings where members of the individuals and interest groups can request to speak.

The pre-examination stage of the process is expected to take approximately three to four months. All of the documentation associated with the project will be available to view free of charge at a number of inspection locations within the local area (as set out below) until Thursday 16 October 2014.