£36 million biogas plant rejection 'will be appealed', developers confirm
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Developers behind a controversial plan for a £36m biogas plant in Easter Ross are appealing against Highland Council's decision to refuse planning permission.
Green energy company Acorn Bioenergy confirmed it has lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government in connection with its plans to build an anaerobic digestion plant that would produce biomethane and biogenic carbon at Fearn.
The plant was rejected by Highland Council back in November, with council planners refusng permission under delegated powers – citing an unacceptable risk to aviation safety among their various reasons for the decision.
Related: Acorn Bioenergy anaerobic digester plant bid at Fearn airfield is knocked back by Highland Council
That move came just weeks after a lightning strike at a biogas plant in Oxfordshire sparked a fireball explosion and shone a sharp light on already aired local concerns in Easter Ross.
There had been scores of objections from the public to the proposals, with protesters warning of severe economic, environmental and social impacts and claiming the farming, tourism and hospitality sectors would all affected.
But despite local safety concerns, and the rejection by council planners, Acron Bioenergy is taking its proposal for the 7.5 hectare Fearn site to the Scottish Government for a final decision.
If approved by ministers, Acorn Bioenergy says the site could become the first of several of its plants to be developed in the north of Scotland.
It argues this would align with Scottish Government net-zero ambitions, arguing that biomethane produced at the sites using crops and by-products from local farms would be added to Scotland’s gas grid to heat homes, help local industry to decarbonise, power heavy goods vehicles, and contribute to overall greater UK energy security.
It also claimed that once operational, it would provide "a new guaranteed year-round source of income for farms in the area", which would be providing “feedstock,” of energy crops, silages, straw and waste inputs, including manures, to be used in the plant’s five digestion tanks.
A by-product of the gas production process would also produce supplies of digestate fertiliser for use on fields as a greener alternative to traditional fossil fuel fertilisers.
By-products from the area’s whisky industry would also be used in the gas production process, with the biomethane produced in turn offering an alternative, greener gas fuel supply to distilleries, especially those off the gas grid.
Alister Veitch, of Acorn Bioenergy, said: “While we are disappointed by the outcome of our planning application to the council, we hope Scottish Ministers will recognise its merits and benefits and the clear alignment there is with the Scottish Government’s own objectives on achieving net-zero, decarbonising key industries and driving more sustainable agriculture and so enable us to work with farmers and distillers in the area to start developing this important new industry.”
He continued: “Anaerobic digestion is a tried-and-tested, technology that can safely and efficiently produce the clean green fuel that is needed to help decarbonise industries, achieve net-zero targets, and build energy security.
“The development of the industry offers a new long-term source of income for farmers providing the feedstock needed year-round to produce the biomethane.
“It can provide a circular economy solution for the high energy demands of the whisky industry, helping decarbonise operations from field to bottle, while also contributing to The Highland Council’s carbon neutral targets.
Acorn said its plans for the Fearn site would represent a £36 million investment in the Highland Council area and would create 15 new full-time jobs, as well as around 100 during the plant’s construction.
Once operational, the plant would generate enough biomethane to heat around 8000 homes or fuel 270 heavy goods vehicles a year. Biogas produced by the plant would be transported by Acorn’s own fleet of biomethane-powered tankers.
But that fleet of tankers was one of the local concerns that were raised in the past, with residents concerned about the increased volume of traffic on nearby roads.
Acorn has applied for planning permission for similar plants near Elgin and Buckie, in Moray.
Last year The Highland Council approved Acorn’s plans for an injection point near Inverness, where the biogas, transported to the site by biomethane-fuelled tankers, can be added to the grid.
