SUFFOLK is to go ahead with detailed plans for a new waste-burning power station, it was confirmed today.But there has still been no site identified for the incinerator which would burn waste and provide electricity for thousands of homes across the county.

SUFFOLK is to go ahead with detailed plans for a new waste-burning power station, it was confirmed today.

But there has still been no site identified for the incinerator which would burn waste and provide electricity for thousands of homes across the county.

The county council has spent a year looking at the options for dealing with waste which cannot be recycled or composted.

It has concluded that a “clean” incinerator would be the best solution for the county's residual waste - although it has not ruled out other solutions to the issue.

The options were being unveiled today by county environment spokesman Eddy Alcock, who was pointing out that the construction is still several years away.

The incinerator will be built and operated by an outside contractor under licence from the county council.

A county source said: “The location would be decided in consultation with the operator. It may be that they have their own site.

“The county would like it to be built on a brownfield site and it would need to have good road and rail links - apart from that there are no firm rules about location.”

It is thought an incinerator is more likely to be built on the outskirts of a town or in the countryside rather than in a town centre.

And special filters would be used to screen harmful chemicals and ensure nothing like dioxins were released into the atmosphere.

A final decision on whether to build an incinerator is likely to be taken within the next few years and the plant itself is not likely to be operational until the early years of next decade.