WAG MINISTER RECOGNISES SOLUTIA’S LEADING EDGE ENERGY POLICY

Wales’ environment minister Jane Davidson has officially opened two wind turbines constructed on the site of a Newport chemical company adopting leading edge technology to meet its energy needs.

Ms Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, was visiting Solutia on Corporation Road to launch “A Low Carbon Revolution”, the Welsh Assembly Government’s new Energy Policy Statement.

The two 2.5-megawatt wind turbines have been installed on Solutia’s 126 hectare (311 acre) site to supply up to one third of the facility’s electricity needs. The company is seen as a good example of the energy route the new statement is encouraging firms to take.

The 130m and 120m high turbines have been installed and are being operated by Solutia’s partner, Wind Direct, a specialist company which works with large electricity users to enable them to install wind turbines on brownfield sites.

Solutia UK Limited employs 160 people and manufactures specialty chemicals used in the creation of a wide range of everyday items including washing powders, floor coverings and laminated windscreens for cars. Part of a worldwide group headquartered in St Louis, USA, Solutia UK turns over more than £100m of which more than 80% is exported. Its products are becoming increasingly important in renewable energy generation, such as heat transfer fluids for concentrated solar power plants and plastics films for photovoltaic cells.

The turbines are the first in a series of plans the company has to secure a more environmentally-friendly, cost-competitive energy supply.

“These two turbines will reduce our carbon footprint in line with Solutia’s worldwide commitment to sustainability and the environment, and help us to secure and develop our business and related jobs here by supplying one of our major utilities,” explained site manager Steve Westhead.

“We have also entered into an Exclusivity Agreement with Waste Recycling Group (WRG) who are evaluating building an energy-from-waste facility on our land. If this project goes ahead, it has the potential to supply the site with renewably-generated steam and electricity.”

Solutia UK is also evaluating a project to relocate a gas turbine from its site at Ruabon in North Wales. This turbine, when fitted to an existing energy-efficient boiler installed in 2004, would allow a high quality Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to generate much of the electricity the site needs.