Acorn Bioenergy lodges appeal over Elgin biomass plant
The developer of a refused biomass plant near Elgin has fired back at Moray Council, calling rejection of their plans “wholly unfounded.”
Developer Acorn Bioenergy has lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government after councillors unanimously voted down proposals in April.
It came after council officers called into question the developer’s carbon saving figures, Longmorn location and the benefits it would bring Moray.
Acorn have strongly condemned the council’s analysis of their plans, which they argue used no “rational analysis,” and asked government reporters to overrule and back the plans.
The council’s refusal of the plans hinged on the carbon savings of the project.
Planners took issue with Acorn bioenergy’s plans, stating: “The proposal is likely to produce significantly more greenhouse gas emissions than it removes.”
In their decision, they cited material transport emissions and uncertainty over the developer’s carbon capture plans.
They also stated there were not enough economic benefits from the proposals to justify a new lorry junction on the busy A941.
Councillors at the time called local contributions from the developer “absolutely insufficient” and said the Longmorn site was the wrong location.
The land is part of the protected ‘Countryside Around Towns’ (CAT) zone surrounding Elgin and councillors felt the development was not worth sacrificing the green space.
Acorn questioned the council’s decision and said in an appeal statement to the Scottish Government the site “could not be better located.”
They continue to stand behind their emissions saving figures, which the council refuted.
Acorn said the council did not use “any rational analysis” when judging the carbon savings of the project.
They argue their emissions calculation was based on the “worst case scenario” of diesel lorries carrying biomethane to a gas injection point near Inverness.
Acorn said their plans made several allowances for this, including injecting the gas directly into a network pipe on site and running trucks on their own biomethane.
Acorn also called council claims the site had no significant economic benefit “wholly unfounded,” and said it would “create a circular economy” with the Moray whisky industry and local farming.
They said: [Acorn’s] proposals have been promoted with the specific objective of serving the whisky industry within Moray.
“The industry has expressed strong support for the location.”
Acorn questioned how “specifically designing the project to meet the needs of a key local business sector” did not show direct economic benefits.
Lack of consideration of this revealed a “bias inherent within the analysis” by council officers, they added.
Moray Council have until the 26th June to submit their response to the appeal, and a council spokesperson said they intend to do so.
Back in April when the council decided on the application, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to several local objectors who shared their worries about the plant.
Road safety was a primary concern, and ex-policeman David Duff said “people will die” as a result of lorry movements going in and out of the site each day on the A941.
Acorn said their plan to create a ghost island junction on the A941 raised no “substantive issues” concerning road safety from the council or the roads authority.
Local postman Peter Regan said the plant would be “blighting our lives every day for 25 years” and felt it was the “wrong site at the wrong time.”
Other objections made against the site worried about potential odour leaking out and the lack of local benefit coming from the application.
The LDRS recently spoke to residents of Rathven near Buckie about a similarly sized biomass plant planned opposite the village.
The developer was forced to move the site closer to Rathven after Historic Environment Scotland revealed a nearby cairn, and a full planning application for the new site has yet to be submitted.
A further biomass plant on the disused Fearn Airfield in Easter Ross also appealed to the Scottish Government after Highland Council refused the application.
The plant won the appeal despite further objections from locals.
Acorn say the plant will create 15 jobs and will produce enough biomethane to heat around 8,000 homes, and hopes it’s approval leans favourably towards overruling the Elgin plans.
You can read Acorn’s full appeal of the Longmorn site here and the application remains open for public comments until the 3rd July.
