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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.