News

Damning report on biomass plant plan

Published

10 years ago

March 2, 2016

AN ENVIRONMENTAL campaigning organisation has this week published a report on the biomass gasification power plant proposed by Egnedol in Milford Haven, claiming that it is a “highrisk, unproven technology,” and casting serious doubt on the company’s ability to successfully operate such a plant.

Screen Shot 2016-03-02 at 10.38.03

Biofuelwatch’s report highlights how similar attempts to build gasifiers in the UK have failed, and outlines the health and safety risks associated with the technology. It also points to the fact that Egnedol has no track record with any power station scheme, anywhere, ever, and has provided no evidence of having any expertise in operating such an unproven and highly challenging technology.

Egnedol, a Cypriotic-Welsh company, has announced that they will submit a planning application to Pembrokeshire County Council for a 49.9 MW power station which would gasify around 400,000 tonnes of wood a year. This application forms part of a much larger project, which Egnedol estimate would increase the power station capacity to 350 MW and include a wide range of business activities, such as fish and prawn farms, using the waste heat from the plant. No gasification plant of this type and scale exists anywhere in the world, according to the campaign group. As Biofuelwatch’s report shows, another UK company’s attempt to use gasification technology, albeit on a smaller scale, resulted in hundreds of breaches of their air emissions permit, dozens of noise complaints, an explosion and a fire.

Almuth Ernsting, Biofuelwatch Co-Director and author of the report told The Herald: “Our briefing exposes Egnedol as a company with no proven track record of delivering any projects at all, let alone ones involving unproven and challenging new technologies. It is important that local residents, the planning department and Councillors fully understand the public health risks involved in trying to operate such a plant.”

Egnedol state that half of the power station’s energy will be generated from waste wood, which is usually chemically treated and emits dangerous pollutants into the air when gasified. They say the remainder will be imported “super trees,” grown in plantations in Morocco and Greece. However, the website of the company that Egnedol claims it will source these trees from, shows that they are still waiting for permission to plant such trees in Greece and have no current plans to plant any in Morocco.

Campaigners are calling for the proposal to be rejected. Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, Gareth Chubb said: “The people of Pembrokeshire won’t like being guinea pigs for an unproven technology with uncertain risks to human health using wood from nonexistent forests. Companies like Egnedol have talked up this type of proposal for a long time but we’ve never seen a successful venture of this nature in the UK. This proposal should be rejected.”

Biofuelwatch’s report which highlights Egnedol’s claims that hundreds of jobs will be created; may well come to nothing. The vast majority of the 560 jobs which Egnedol claim they will create would come from the additional business activities, are unviable without an uninterrupted supply of waste heat. Prawns and warm-water fish, for example, would instantly die if the gasifier had to be shut down for unplanned repairs – yet, as the report shows, frequent shut downs and repairs are the norm, not the exception, for gasification power plants.

Our questions to Egnedol still remain unanswered

THE QUESTIONS posed below were sent to Egnedol, the company claiming to be ready to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in Milford Haven, by The Herald.

At the presentation given at Milford Haven Town Hall on the evening of January 25, your spokesperson referred to feedstock for the plant coming from Morocco and Greece. I am informed that some two weeks after that meeting you still have not answered an enquiry as to how many hectares of land are under cultivation in those countries, nor identified the species of plant being grown there.

I noted that you also told the Town Council you will produce 2 million kilos of prawns a year at the site. Please advise what plans for transporting such a significant cargo to and from Blackbridge you intend to put in place.

In relation to the cheese plant, which also formed part of your presentation, bearing in mind the global fall in milk prices and the downward pressure on farmgate prices, what arrangements have you made to acquire contracts for the cheese wholesale and the arrangements you propose to make to transport milk and cheese to and from the site.

I note an article in the Cyprus Mail referring to Egnedol Ltd Mr Antoniades is reported to have said: “… garbage – plastic, organic materials, metals, and so on – is not garbage,” Antoniades explained. “To us, that’s energy. That’s profit.”

Please confirm whether the plant proposed at Blackbridge would be able to burn ‘garbage – plastic, organic materials, metals, and so on’. If it would, please confirm what mitigation arrangements Egnedol proposes to put in place for dioxin and heavy metals pollution from burning such waste.

Please identify the location in Wales of the 450m Euro contract Mr Antoniades told the Cyprus Mail Egnedol had obtained by October 2014.

Mr Antoniades is reported to have told The Cyprus Mail: “.. we asked for a confidentiality agreement before showing them around our UK facility,” Antoniades said. “We never heard back from them after that.”

To which UK facility did Mr Antoniades refer?

For the avoidance of any doubt on your part, please identify the location of the plant in the UK that Egnedol told the Cypriot Government it operated in Spring 2014.

As it is proposed to ship in plant material from the Mediterranean to Blackbridge to be burned as fuel, please confirm the carbon cost of shipping compared the carbon saving from consumption of the plant material.

We propose to provide ample space for your answers to all of the above.

I look forward to your full and prompt reply. As most of these questions refer to claims already made in public by your company, its directors and/or representatives, I do not anticipate that the answers will take long.

Please note: the questions will be published with answers if they are provided and without answers if they are not forthcoming.

If you are unable or unwilling to respond, please provide a statement to that effect

Without answering the questions asked, Steve Whitehouse, Director of Egnedol Ltd told The Herald: “Our proposed sustainable energy facility has been designed to comply fully with European and UK guidelines with respect to sustainable energy production.

“Both the UK and European Government agree that using short rotation biomass crops to create energy via advanced conversion systems, offers an excellent opportunity to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and to ensure energy security.

“We are looking forward to working with the community to bring this showcase development to fruition.

“A copy of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project will be posted on the company website at www.egnedol.co.uk when the planning application is submitted. Feedback forms will be provided on the website to enable members of the public to comment on the application.”

News

Motorcyclist dies following collision near Narberth

Published

35 minutes ago

July 17, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Police appeal for witnesses and footage after fatal crash on B4313 at Redstone

A MOTORCYCLIST has died following a collision on the B4313 near Redstone, Narberth.

The crash happened at around 3.10pm on Thursday (July 16) and involved a grey Nissan Qashqai and a blue Suzuki GSXR motorcycle.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed on Friday morning that the motorcycle rider, a 51-year-old man, died at the scene.

His family is being supported by specially trained officers.

No other injuries were reported.

The B4313 Redstone Road was closed in both directions following the collision, with access restricted from Penblewin Roundabout while specialist officers examined the scene.

The closure also caused delays in the surrounding area, including on the A40.

The road reopened at around 3am on Friday (July 17), almost 12 hours after the collision.

Police are now appealing for witnesses and are particularly keen to hear from anyone who was travelling in the area at the time.

Officers would also like to obtain any dash-cam, CCTV or doorbell footage that may assist the investigation.

Information can be provided to Dyfed-Powys Police online, by emailing [email protected] or by calling 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Quote reference DP-20260716-302.

Health

NHS Wales deficit rises to £199m despite record investment

Published

39 minutes ago

July 17, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Six of Wales’ seven health boards failed to balance their books as funding fell in real terms

NHS WALES recorded an annual deficit of £199 million last year, despite receiving what Audit Wales described as record investment in the health service.

The watchdog’s audit of NHS bodies’ accounts for 2025-26 found that six of Wales’ seven health boards again failed to meet their legal duty to break even over a rolling three-year period.

The combined three-year deficit across NHS Wales increased to £506 million, up from £457 million the previous year.

NHS Wales received £11.76 billion in revenue funding during 2025-26, an increase of £198 million compared with 2024-25 and around £2 billion more than it received in 2021-22.

However, once inflation was taken into account, funding was 1.5% lower in real terms than in the previous financial year.

Audit Wales said increasing demand, rising pay and other day-to-day costs meant financial pressures were not being brought under control.

The annual deficit was £75 million higher than the £124 million shortfall recorded in 2024-25.

The accounts of all 12 NHS bodies were found to present their financial positions fairly. However, the Auditor General qualified his regularity opinion for the six health boards that failed to break even because they had exceeded their legal authority to spend.

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board was the only health board to meet its three-year break-even duty.

However, the Auditor General issued a separate qualified regularity opinion for the health board because one senior officer had been paid above remuneration levels set by the Welsh Government.

All three NHS trusts met their three-year break-even duty.

The two special health authorities, Health Education and Improvement Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales, are required to break even annually and both did so.

Agency spending falls sharply

Audit Wales highlighted a significant reduction in spending on agency staff.

Agency expenditure fell to £128 million in 2025-26, representing a 61% reduction compared with its peak in 2022-23.

Around 73% of agency spending was used to cover staff vacancies, while approximately 15% supported additional activity aimed at meeting demand for services.

NHS bodies reported making £256 million in savings during the year, just £3 million more than in 2024-25.

However, Audit Wales warned that recurring savings had fallen and had been outweighed by increased reliance on one-off measures.

One-off savings can include delaying projects or expenditure, while recurring savings result from permanent changes such as more efficient working practices or securing goods and services at lower prices.

The watchdog said the NHS remained too dependent on savings that could not be repeated in future years.

It warned that the current savings profile was not enough to stem the tide of rising demand and other cost pressures, including staff pay.

Most health boards unable to produce balanced plans

Health boards and NHS trusts are also required to prepare Welsh Government-approved three-year plans setting out how they will deliver services within the funding available.

Only one health board, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, had its plan approved, doing so for the second consecutive year.

All three NHS trusts also secured approval for their plans.

Audit Wales said the inability of most health boards to produce financially balanced plans meant the overall NHS deficit was unlikely to improve in the near future.

It warned that continuing financial pressure could push NHS organisations towards short-term decisions aimed at managing the immediate annual position rather than delivering longer-term reform.

The watchdog called for greater emphasis on prevention, whole-system change and long-term planning to safeguard the financial future of the health service.

Auditor General Adrian Crompton said the accounts showed financial pressure within the NHS was continuing despite repeated increases in cash funding.

He said: “The picture painted by those accounts is of financial pressure on the NHS that is not being contained, let alone reversed.

“That has been a persistent pattern during my eight-year term, compounded by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising demand.

“As I have pointed out previously, this is despite the Senedd passing the NHS Finance (Wales) Act 2014, more than a decade ago, to set the financial and planning duties that NHS bodies are expected to meet.

“Turning the tide on NHS spending will not be easy, but turn it must.

“For the NHS, as for public services in general, a much sharper and relentless focus on the delivery of value for money is needed, alongside a mindset shift to one focused on prevention and the longer term.”

Audit Wales has also published an updated NHS Wales Finances Data Tool containing further details about the financial performance of individual NHS organisations.

Crime

Man sentenced after false stabbing claim in abusive 999 call

Published

17 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Court Reporter

Court hears intoxicated caller wasted police resources after contacting officers from Penally caravan site

A MAN has been sentenced after falsely claiming he had been stabbed and making abusive comments during a 999 call to police.

Christopher Lawrence, 43, contacted the emergency services from the Oasis campsite in Penally on June 2, saying he wanted to report a crime.

“He told police that he had been stabbed, stating: ‘You f****** don’t care,’” Crown prosecutor Sian Vaughan told Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court this week.

Lawrence then ended the call, but the police control room contacted him again.

He told the call handler that a man he described as “half bald” and drunk had arrived at the campsite and was threatening him.

“I’ve told the f****** police that if he comes here, I’ll go mental,” Lawrence said.

He also claimed to have suffered a stab wound to his side but said he did not require an ambulance.

When officers arrived, they found Lawrence heavily intoxicated.

“He told the officers that he had not been stabbed and had not made the call, but clearly that was not the case,” Ms Vaughan said.

Lawrence, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message to police.

His solicitor, Michael Kelleher, said the offence had been driven by Lawrence’s alcohol misuse.

“What runs throughout this case is his alcohol abuse, but he is now showing a willingness to address it,” Mr Kelleher told the court.

“This functioning alcoholic wants to get to the bottom of his problem and stop offending.

“Alcohol can heighten a person’s anxiety and their perception of what is happening. There was no issue concerning his safety on this occasion, but there had been in the past, and that was playing on his mind.

“But what he did was wrong. It was a waste of police resources, and he understands how other people could have been affected by his actions.”

Lawrence was sentenced to a 12-month community order, including a nine-month alcohol treatment programme and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was also fined £100 and ordered to pay a £114 surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.