| Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter | |
|---|---|
| Alcan lynemouth.JPG Alcan Lynemouth Smelter in July 2008 |
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| General information | |
| Type | Aluminium smelter |
| Location | Lynemouth, Northumberland, North East England |
| Inaugurated | 1974 |
| Cost | £54 million |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Alcan |
The Alcan Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter is situated near Ashington, Northumberland, on the coast of North East England, 0.65 mi (1.05 km) south of the village of Lynemouth. The smelter is owned by Canadian aluminium company Alcan, which is part of Rio Tinto. The smelter was opened in 1974 at a cost of £54 million.
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A variety of factors determined the smelter's position:
When work first started on the site local farmers were worried that pollution from the smelter would ruin their crops and harm their livestock. To address their concerns Alcan decided to buy the land from them. Alcan now own over 4,500 acres (18 km2) of land in the local area and employ a farming director. The land is still used to grow crops and raise livestock.
In early 2005 residents of nearby villages were worried about the fate of the smelter when the only remaining local coal mine situated at Ellington, closed. However the smelter did not close and imports its coal from overseas or from mines in other parts of the country.
The emissions of the power plant connected to the smelter were another concern for the environment. In April 2010, the European Court of Justice decided [1] that, in contrary to the claim of the UK Government, the power plant was subject to the emission limit values laid down in the 2001 directive on large combustion plants (2001/80/EC)[2]. As a consequence, emissions of air polluting substances of the plant should now be reduced.
The plant is due to be closed in mid February 2012, following a 90 day consultation period, putting 515 people out of work. Alcan cited rising energy costs due to emerging european environmental legislation as the reason, however no mention was made of effects (if any) on their other european aluminium plants in France and Iceland. Lynemouth is also a candidate for closure as it apparently does not meet Rio Tinto's criteria of 40% rate of return from its businesses, despite being one of the most efficient aluminium smelters in the world. The 420MW coal power station may continue to operate under new ownership