OREANDA-NEWS. November 22, 2011. A new investment at the Port Talbot steelworks is set to improve the  competitiveness of the site, generate over 1MW of energy, and reduce carbon  dioxide emissions by 6,000 tonnes per year. It represents another vital  contribution towards the sustainability of the site – and the steel industry in  Wales.

The CAPL (Continuous  Annealing Process Line) waste heat recovery project will generate steam and  make use of a turbine being installed as part of Port Talbot’s 53 million pound BOS  (Basic Oxygen Steelmaking) Plant Evaporative Cooling Scheme, announced in March  this year. The CAPL project will be carried out between July and December 2012  to coincide with the BOS Plant project, as well as with the 185 million pound  project to rebuild Port Talbot’s Blast Furnace No 4, announced in August last  year.

Port Talbot Hub Director Jon Ferriman said: “Times are very tough in the  steel industry at the moment. However, we are committed to our capital  expenditure programme to further improve the competitiveness of Welsh  steelmaking. By increasing our power generating capacity we are improving our  energy efficiency and there is also a significant indirect impact on carbon  dioxide emissions.”

The CAPL line at Port Talbot was built in 1999. The process of annealing  improves the formability of steel products, increasing their value and market  reach.