Factory bosses' biomass plant fears
Bosses at a factory near Oswestry, which employs more than 500 people, say they are concerned for its long-term future because of the threat from the biomass power industry. Bosses at a factory near Oswestry, which employs more than 500 people, say they are concerned for its long-term future because of the threat from the biomass power industry. Plans for timber-fuelled power stations are worrying bosses at Kronospan in Chirk. They fear the cost of timber will rise so much that Kronospan, which makes medium density fibreboard, will not be able to compete for its raw materials. The company, one of the biggest employers in the region, uses all British timber. Director Gavin Adkins said Kronospan was lobbying the Government and the Welsh Assembly over plans for biomass power stations. He said the projects posed "a potential threat in the future that we are actively lobbying to avoid".
Bosses at a factory near Oswestry, which employs more than 500 people, say they are concerned for its long-term future because of the threat from the biomass power industry.
Plans for timber-fuelled power stations are worrying bosses at Kronospan in Chirk.
They fear the cost of timber will rise so much that Kronospan, which makes medium density fibreboard, will not be able to compete for its raw materials. The company, one of the biggest employers in the region, uses all British timber.
Director Gavin Adkins said Kronospan was lobbying the Government and the Welsh Assembly over plans for biomass power stations.
He said the projects posed "a potential threat in the future that we are actively lobbying to avoid".
He added: "The current renewable energy policy is a blunt instrument that does not promote the most effective climate change abatement from the UK's scarce and finite timber resource. The unintended consequence of the policy risks UK job cuts and increased net CO2 emissions."
The worries have also been taken up by Welsh Assembly Member Mark Isherwood. He said: "Kronospan is a vital employer in north Wales, providing 560 high-value jobs. The company consumes 40 per cent more timber than the whole forestry harvest in Wales and businesses like Kronospan would be greatly disadvantaged if Government intervention did not prevent this happening."
He said the Welsh Assembly should be supporting a ban on landfill for waste timber so that it could be used for energy production.
