North Hoyle view - the UK's first offshore wind farm

• First offshore wind electricity flows ashore

• Prime Minister and Greenpeace hail future 'transformed by clean energy'

• Greenpeace and npower launch development fund for renewables

The UK's vast wind power potential will become a reality today (21 November 2003) when Britain's first major offshore wind farm begins to deliver electricity ashore.

The North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm is located 7-8 km off the North Wales coast between Prestatyn and Rhyl. It will be officially 'switched on' at events staged jointly in North Wales and London by energy supplier, npower, and environmental group Greenpeace. Energy Minister Stephen Timms will attend the London launch.

In an address to be broadcast at both events, the Prime Minister praised the unique alliance between npower and Greenpeace stating, "I am pleased to celebrate what even a few years ago would have been the most unlikely of partnerships - npower and Greenpeace - and their inauguration of the North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm."

He went on to congratulate those involved in the project. "Rolling out this first large-scale offshore wind venture is a highly significant step toward achieving Britain's renewables goal. We are on our way to a future that can be transformed by the use of clean forms of energy. I look forward to celebrating further successes with you along the way," he said.

The project took eight months to complete and will offset the release of 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. The thirty turbines will supply clean power for up to 50,000 homes.

Andrew Duff, Chief Executive Officer of npower and RWE Innogy, which built North Hoyle, said it would be a tangible symbol to people who want to protect the environment. "All too often people think of the big issues like global warming and feel powerless to do anything about it.

Through our clean electricity, we can help people across the country make a difference. For every unit of electricity taken from the National Grid by customers of npower Juice, we will replace it with a unit of electricity from North Hoyle. This will effectively offset their electricity use and help reduce the greenhouse gasses entering the atmosphere."

Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK welcomed North Hoyle's completion and urged more action to encourage the development of renewable technologies. "This is the beginning of mainstream wind power development and the dawn of a new clean energy era for Britain. Global warming is the greatest threat facing the planet, but the power flowing ashore today demonstrates we have the solutions to tackle it. It's great news for all our futures." he said.

Energy Minister Stephen Timms said: "We've set the target so that, by 2010, we want 10% of our electricity to be generated from renewable resources. It's clear that perhaps as much as 80% of that will be from wind farms like this one, the first commercial large scale offshore wind farm in the UK - it's a pioneering development."

npower Juice Fund launched to boost fledgling renewables projects
npower and Greenpeace today also announced the creation of the "npower Juice Fund", designed to assist the development of projects in other renewable energy fields such as wave and tidal energy. npower will make an annual contribution of £10 for every customer that stays with npower Juice - up to a maximum of £500,000 per year.

"Juice customers have helped speed up the development of Britain's first offshore wind farm, now they can also support the next generation of clean energy sources," said Tindale.

North Hoyle was developed by National Wind Power, part of RWE Innogy, Britain's largest producer of renewable energy. The wind farm will have a total installed capacity of 60 megawatts (MW).


Notes to editors

1. North Hoyle was constructed by a consortium comprising Vestas Celtic Wind Technology and Mayflower Energy, both UK-based companies. Approximately 85% of the capital expenditure of North Hoyle has been placed with companies based in the UK. Further details about the North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm can be found at www.northhoyle.co.uk

2. In addition to npower Juice, in June 2002 npower also announced a partnership with the UK's leading solar company Solar Century to look into developing solar energy 'accounts' for domestic and business electricity users. To register for npower Juice, consumers anywhere in the UK can telephone the hotline on 0800 316 2610 or log on to www.switchtojuice.com

3. npower is one of the UK's largest energy providers supplying gas, electricity, home maintenance, warranty and conveyancing services to over 6 million customers anywhere in the UK mainland. It is a subsidiary of RWE Innogy. www.npower.com/juice

4. Greenpeace is an independent non-profit global campaigning organisation that uses creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and their causes. It researches the solutions and alternatives to help provide a path for a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace does not financially benefit from Juice.

5. National Wind Power has developed the leading position in the UK wind power market. Formed in August 1991, the company is also a subsidiary of RWE Innogy and has offices in South East England, South West England, North East England, Wales and Scotland. NWP's team of over seventy professional staff have more experience of wind farm development and management in the UK than any other group. www.natwindpower.co.uk 6. While North Hoyle was being constructed Juice was sourced from existing onshore wind sources and a hydro plant based in Dolgarrog in the Snowdonia Mountains, which uses the plentiful natural supply of water to generate electricity. As a Juice customer, for every unit of electricity you use, a unit of Juice electricity is purchased by npower on your behalf. This means that although the electricity you receive is no different to normal electricity, it is ensured that an equivalent amount of electricity to that which you use is generated from clean, renewable sources.

7. Numerous studies indicate that in theory offshore wind could supply the total UK electricity requirement. In addition, the skills acquired over the decades in the oil and gas industry make the UK uniquely positioned to exploit this abundant renewable resource, with substantial potential for job creation in the new industry.

8. One of the major causes of global warming and climate change is the emission of large volumes of the gas carbon dioxide (CO2), resulting from, amongst other things, the generation of electricity by burning fossil fuels like coal and oil. Every unit of electricity generated from the wind, however, whether on land or at sea, takes the place of a unit that would otherwise have been generated by a fossil fuel power station, thus helping to reduce CO2 emissions and combat climate change.

Pictures

Images of North Hoyle have been distributed to picture desks by Newscast and can also be sourced from: www.newscast.co.uk (registering is quick and free - follow instructions) or by calling 0845 070 2807

Cool Waste Management

A new report for waste managers and local authorities detailing how to deal with the small fraction of household waste that is currently non-recyclable will be published by Greenpeace Environmental Trust on March 17. Cool Waste Management shows how the process of Mechanical and Biological Treatment is a safer and cleaner alternative to burning rubbish in polluting incinerators or burying it in landfill sites.

'Cool Waste Management' not only includes a detailed design plan for a state-of-the-art Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant but provides data on emissions from MBT, costs of building and running a plant. MBT combined with a big drive to recycle in Edmonton in Canada has enabled the town to reduce its waste by 70%.

Used after the maximum amount of dry recyclables and organic waste has been removed, MBT uses sieving, magnets and air currents to extract any remaining recyclables. MBT then cleans the waste to make it biologically stable so it can be landfilled without the risk of fires or leaching.

Greenpeace campaigner Mark Strutt said,
"Any local authority serious about environmental goals should look at this report. The MBT plant described in it can be built instead of a polluting incinerator to deal with any waste left over after recycling. Not only will it not churn out huge amounts of poisonous gases over the surrounding area but it is cost competitive, flexible, and allows local authorities to adapt to future changes in the quantity and composition of our household rubbish".

Greenpeace's report compares three alternatives for dealing with residual waste: (1) incineration, (2) landfill of untreated waste and (3) MBT followed by landfill. The results show that MBT followed by landfill is the best environmental option, preferable to incineration in terms of toxic emissions, climate impacts and resource and energy conservation.

Public opposition to incineration has grown during the past three years with six applications for planning permission refused and several councils ruling out incineration as an option. The Government has also backtracked and now offers little support to incineration.

Increased interest in new techniques for treating residual waste, means MBT is now a serious option for waste managers. The plant proposed by Greenpeace and designed by Austrian Environmental Engineers TBU, is energy self-sufficient and produces the same amount of waste requiring landfill as a modern incinerator.

'Cool Waste Management' makes a distinction between 'fuel preparation plants' which use a version of MBT to split waste into high and low calorific value streams before burning it in incinerators, and MBT designed to follow intensive kerbside recycling schemes and can help achieve recycling rates of up to 85%. The cleansed and stabilised residue from this form of MBT can be safely landfilled.

The new report follows How to comply with the Landfill Directive without Incineration and Zero Waste all published by Greenpeace. All these reports can be downloaded as Adobe Acrobat files or a hard copy can be obtained free of charge from:
Greenpeace, Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN.

Further information:
Contact:
The Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255

A State-of-the-Art Alternative to Incineration for Residual Municipal Waste- MBT

Publication date: February 2003

Summary
The aim of this study is to assess the possibilities for a system for managing residual waste which does not include any thermal treatment process. The study includes a review of mechanical biological treatment (MBT) systems and their potential effects.

MBT systems are not new. In their more primitive guises, they can be considered a basic evolution from the (usually failed) mixed waste composting plants of two decades ago. However, the potential for integrating systems based around biological treatment of degradable fractions with increasingly efficient mechanical separation techniques is a more recent development, as is the tendency to look to employ digestion techniques for the biological treatment phase as opposed to aerobic treatments.

Sheffield incinerator: climbers on the chimney

Three Greenpeace volunteers have been given a conditional discharge at Hull Crown Court. The three were also ordered to pay compensation each for their part in an action to close Sheffield incinerator after it was identified as the worst incinerator in England, breaking its legal pollution limits 156 times in two years.

The three had been acquitted of criminal damage by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court on the 2nd December for painting the words 'toxic crime' on the plant's chimney but convicted of a second charge of criminal damage to a door at the base of the chimney. The verdicts followed a direction to the jury from the judge Mr Justice Bentley that deprived the volunteers of their defence of taking action to stop the plant committing the crime of breaking pollution laws The defendants are still considering appealing against the judges' summing up.

Rachel Murray one of the three volunteers who occupied the 75-metre incinerator chimney for three days in May 2001 said,
"We still believe what we did was right and we wouldn't have done anything differently. We are proud to have shut down the plant, if only for a short time and stopped it churning out poisonous gases over the people of Sheffield. Lots of people in Sheffield have supported us and have continued the fight to stop this incinerator from polluting the city."

The three Greenpeace volunteers are Rachel Murray 29, from Glasgow, Huw Williams 35, from Buxton and Chris Holden, 25, from Northamptonshire.

Notes to editors:
The three volunteers were also ordered to pay costs towards the prosecution's legal case.

Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255

Greenpeace protesters arrested for painting 'toxic crime' on Sheffield incinerator chimney are acquitted

Three Greenpeace volunteers were today (2nd December 2002) acquitted of criminal damage for painting the words 'toxic crime' on the chimney of Sheffield incinerator. The jury convicted the three of a second charge of criminal damage to a door at the base of the chimney. The verdicts followed a direction to the jury from the judge Mr Justice Bentley, which deprived the volunteers of their defence. The defendants are considering appealing against the judges' summing up.

The volunteers had gone on trial on the 26th November at Sheffield Crown Court for shutting down the Sheffield Waste Incinerator on 22nd May 2001 after it was identified as the worst incinerator in England. The volunteers scaled the 75-metre chimney and capped its flues as part of a Greenpeace action to close the plant. The three also painted 'Toxic Crime' on the chimney to alert the local population to the dangers the incinerator posed.

The Bernard Road plant had exceeded its legal pollution limits 156 times in just two years and discharged tonnes of toxic chemicals on to the people of Sheffield. One month after Greenpeace shut down the incinerator, Onyx who took over the running of Sheffield waste services from the council announced they planned to close it.

During the trial, prosecution witness James Timmington, the assistant manager of the plant at the time of the occupation, told the jury that the incinerator had regularly breached its pollution limits and had been prosecuted and fined for failing to comply with an enforcement notice. He also told the jury that Sheffield incinerator emitted a "toxic cocktail of chemicals".

The three defendants Rachel Murray, Huw Williams and Chris Holden all admitted their part in shutting down the plant but pleaded not guilty on the grounds that they were stopping the plant committing crimes against the people of Sheffield.

Rachel Murray one of the defendants said,

"We are delighted by the acquittal. We are glad we were able to stop this plant churning out poisonous chemicals if only for a few days and that some Sheffield residents were able to open their windows for the first time in years.

"We know that burning rubbish gives off poisons that cause cancers, heart disease and breathing problems. Across the country thousands of local people are fighting against plans to build new plants. Greenpeace will continue to do everything we can to stop new incinerators being built here and across Britain."

People living near incinerators risk exposure to a range of toxic chemicals by breathing contaminated air or by eating contaminated produce like vegetables, eggs and milk, or by skin contact with contaminated soil. One of the most dangerous by-products of burning rubbish are dioxins. The World Health Organisation has said that dioxins are highly carcinogenic and the UK government has warned that half of Britain's babies and toddlers are already taking in more dioxins than is safe.

Numerous studies confirm that a typical incinerator releases a cocktail of known toxic chemicals, including dioxins, lead, cadmium, mercury and fine particles, into the atmosphere. There have been several studies showing increased incidences of cancers and heart disease amongst people living near to or working in incinerators. Recent medical research published in The Lancet showed that toxic fumes from incinerators could be having alarming effects on the sexual development of children.