The proposal is to build a new energy from waste plant on the site of the old coal-fired powered station at Lostock.

The plant will be developed and operated by E.ON Energy From Waste UK Limited, who currently operates 19 EfW plants in Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. E.ON already operates a Combined Heat and Power plant (CHP) at our Winnington site.

The proposed new plant will use approximately 600,000 tonnes of waste derived fuel a year. This is waste that has had all the economically recyclable materials removed and comprises the residual material that would otherwise be sent to landfill for disposal. The waste derived fuel will be made up of; municipal solid waste, industrial and commercial waste and solid recovered waste. There would also be some biomass.

The fuel will be delivered in sealed containers by road and rail. It will be stored in purpose-built bunkers that are controlled at negative air pressure to prevent smells escaping into the atmosphere.

Two types of ash bottom and fly - are created by combusting waste derived fuel. The bottom ash around 20 per cent of the total - can be reused as aggregates in construction or road making. Around five per cent is fly ash which will be removed from site in sealed units and taken to secure and licenced disposal sites.

The plant itself will be on the site of the old coal-fired power station at the Lostock site. At its highest point the building will not exceed the height of the existing kiln, the tallest building, on site. It will have two chimney stacks 90 metres high. This is the same height as one of the chimneys in the coal-fired station which were demolished in 2005.