The public writes...

What is the benefit for Glenavy?

AS a resident of the Glenavy area, may I be permitted to comment on the Rose Energy controversy?

Firstly, I’m not a ‘Nimby’. I have in the last year been exploring various green energy solutions for my own bungalow. My experiences with certain salemen have left me totally appalled.

For example £25,000 to erect a wind turbine, or electric pumps of such high amperage for a heat exchange system, which would consume more electric than would heat the house directly. Needless to say I continue with my oil-fired system.

However, back to the proposed power station. Two years ago I was fortunate to holiday on the island of Islay, staying in the town of Bowmore - a beautiful town dominated on the shoreline by a very large distillery.

The point being that the distillers have installed a swimming pool for the residents and use the waste heat to warm it. If Rose Energy were to do something similar, Glenavy could also benefit from the much greater quantity of waste heat.

A similar pool, or perhaps piped hot water for the village? Probably a very small percentage of the overall budget. They could also take the main protesters for a tour of other sites where these silent, fume-free stations already.operate. Norfolk in the spring perhaps or Germany?

More altruism would not go amiss. To date we have not heard what advantage Glenavy would gain.

One of the Crew

Ulster Star, Page 22, Friday 26th March, 2010

A reader responds...

‘We owe it to our children to stop the incinerator’

I READ the letter by One of the Crew’ with disbelief and dismay.

It would appear that they don’t seem to care what the pitfalls of an incinerator might be - as long as a swimming pool could be heated from the process then all would be fine.

There are more issues involved here and if the writer of this letter had bothered to investigate the true extent of all potential hazards and implications involved they would not even contemplate the building of something which I believe is such a risk to the environment.

Quite simply nothing ever goes away. If you burn anything, some stuff goes up the chimney and is scattered by the wind. All the rest stays as ash and has to be disposed of in some manner. Most of the by-products are toxins and poisons. In fact the residual ash from this process is toxic and would have to be transported by road and ship to a suitable site somewhere in the UK.

As for the dioxins and other poisons, the wind will take care of that. Rose Energy will dispose of the heated water by pumping it into Lough Neagh. The consequences of this will be debated by your children and grandchildren.

Until recent intervention from our dear friends in Brussels, chicken waste has been spread on the land as fertilizer. A cheap form of locally produced fertilizer. What do you think the farmers are going to replace this with? Yep! Expensive, foreign fertilizer from God knows where.

The figures just don’t add up. What about the massive amount of HGVs needed to transport this material to the incinerator? And the toxic ash away from the incinerator?

They will have to use the country roads which are not able to cope with such a huge amount of HGV traffic throughout the day and night.

There have been many meetings held locally and if anybody had taken the time to attend, and learn the true extent that this proposal would affect the area then not one single person could support this monstrosity being built in such a precious location.

I have spent the past two years researching this kind of operation and I owe it to my children to do all I can to stop this.

Pete Griffin

Ulster Star, Page 22, Friday 2nd April, 2010