£36m Ross-shire biogas plant impacts ‘not significant’, claims report
THE firm behind deeply controversial plans for a £36m biogas plant in Easter Ross have kickstarted a fresh bid to have a planning knockback overturned.
Acorn Energy has said the plant it wants to build near Fearn would generate enough biomethane to heat around 8000 homes or fuel 270 HGVs a year.
Thousands of people have opposed the proposal - rejected by Highland Council, but now being appealed - citing the potentially “explosive” nature of the plant and concerns over road infrastructure and traffic management.
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A petition signed by more than 2000 people says the development “would deliver a highly explosive plant adjacent to a small local distillery, a training airfield and in close proximity to industrial scale distilled spirit storage units”.
They have raised the spectre of an explosion similar to one at a food waste recycling plant in Oxfordshire last year in a scenario where the closest emergency response is almost an hour away.
Now, Acorn Bioenergy has submitted an environmental impact (EIA) assessment which it hopes will sway opinion on the anaerobic digestion (AD) plant.
A covering letter to Highland Council submitted with documentation claims: “The EIA Report has identified mitigation measures where necessary, and concludes that the likely effects on air quality, noise, cultural heritage, and the natural environment are considered as not significant.”
In relation to impacts on the natural environment and air quality, it concludes there are no significant adverse effects from the proposed development and “identifies a number of effects from the AD process…that would have positive impacts” on the environment.
A noise impact assessment “largely concludes” no significant impacts though one local “receptor”, HMS Owl, a restored World War II aircraft control tower, could be affected at night. A 4m high acoustic barrier to the CO2 recovery unit to reduce the noise is being flagged as a possibility.
Amongst several hundred pages of findings, the report identifies benefits which include a £36million investment in the area; five full-time on site and a further 10 offsite, “highly skilled, local jobs” and 830,916 tonnes of CO2 emission savings over a 25-year period.
The capture, upgrading and liquifying of all CO2 can then be sold to businesses for industrial use. It will provide “a long-term secured income to landowners and local farmers”.
It says the proposal is “well-aligned with Scotland's renewable energy and carbon reduction goals”.
The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division of the Scottish Government has confirmed receipt of the report which will be advertised today. Consultees and neighbouring parties will be invited to comment with a deadline in the new year.
The report can be accessed online at https://tinyurl.com/569zb83r
