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Renewable energy
Published: 12/08/2014
The importance of renewable energy has been highlighted at a business meeting
organised by a County Council initiative and involving some of the largest
companies in Flintshire.
The Deeside Industrial Park Business Forum joined together at their quarterly
meeting at the Days Hotel in Sealand to discuss green power and how it is being
used by Flintshire businesses. Four exciting renewable energy projects were
discussed at the afternoon meeting on Friday 4 July with speakers highlighting
the North West Residual Waste Treatment project, the Solar Energy Project from
Compton Group, the Westernlink Project and Tata Solar Energy Research.
The North Wales Residual Waste Treatment Project involves five North Wales
local authorities and will process residual household waste to minimise
landfill sites. The treatment process will produce high levels of combined heat
and power to be used by local businesses or the National Grid. Planning
approval has recently been granted for the Solar Energy Project on land
opposite Deeside Industrial Park. The Compton Group will produce solar powered
energy for the benefit of businesses based at the park.
A converter power station on the industrial park, called the Westernlink
Project, should be operational by 2016 and will convert power from wind farms
into power for the National Grid system. And the Sustainable Building Envelope
Centre (SBEC) at Tata Steel on Deeside promotes awareness of the sustainable
nature of their products with Tata Solar Technology Research looking at
innovative technologies that will be able to implement solar energy production
capabilities into their products.
Derek Butler, Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic
Development said: “Promoting these projects to Flintshire’s business community
shows how organisations, public and private, are working together on
sustainable solutions for the benefit of local companies and at the same time
creating jobs.
We need to take these opportunities to develop new skills and expertise in the
emerging technologies.”
Askar Sheibani, CEO of telecoms repair and support company Comtek, and chair of
the Deeside Industrial Park Business Forum, said: “These meetings showcase the
great relationship that Flintshire County Council has with its local business
community, which is rare to come by in the UK. It proves why coming together
can make such a huge difference, as these sustainability projects will produce
renewable energy for Deeside long into the future, creating a greener economy
and even resulting in more jobs, as people become involved in the project.
This is a great step forward for Deeside, which has now set an example for the
rest of Britain.”
The event is possible due to a business support project for small to medium
enterprise businesses at Deeside Industrial Park and Wrexham Industrial Estate,
called the North East Wales Strategic Business Parks Project which is funded by
the Welsh European Funding Office, Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County
Borough Council. The project promotes links between private business and public
bodies across the region.
Photo caption: Members of the Deeside Industrial Park Business Forum and other
companies who were invited to the event.