Speyside hydrogen plant proposals attract 160 objections
Proposals to build a hydrogen plant on Speyside have attracted over 160 objections amidst fears it will damage a “region of natural beauty”.
The plant would be based in Marypark, about six miles south of Aberlour, with road connections to the A95 for HGVs.
Developer Storegga, which has an office near Aberdeen, says the plant will create around 100 new jobs, while the plans are being supported with a £3.1 million grant from a Scottish Government hydrogen fund.
But opponents claim the plant would push the natural limits of the River Spey, lowering its water levels and impacting fishing and tourism.
Storegga anticipates the plant will be operational around the clock and require 70 HGVs arriving and leaving the site every with tankers of hydrogen.
Several of the 160 objectors have raised concerns about the increase of lorries on the road, labelling the A95 from Marypark a “bottleneck” and “overloaded with traffic”.
Many have questioned the environmental impact of the proposal in a “region of natural beauty”.
One pleaded with the developer to “leave our beautiful countryside alone”.
Other objectors said the project would have a “knock on effect” on the tourist trade, who come to the area in order to fish and admire the countryside.
Storegga said it has investigated over 40 possible sites but found the Marypark location the most suitable.
Five letters have also been submitted by contributors backing the project.
These state the plant is “vital” for the region’s whisky distilleries and will also bring investment into the area.
One supporter said it was a “thorny issue” but the benefits outweigh the negatives.
“Morayshire needs investment, job creation and economic growth,” they added.
A hydrogen plant works by using renewable electricity to extract hydrogen from water, producing ‘clean’ hydrogen.
Storegga say this will aid in “enabling regional decarbonisation” and help the Speyside whisky industry to move away from using fossil fuels.
If approved, the plant will have a capacity of 70 megawatts and produce 25 tonnes of green hydrogen each day.
Storegga will get the vast majority of its water for the plant from a borehole connected to the Spey, with harvested rainwater added in.
The hydrogen plant has hopes of becoming a regional ‘hydrogen hub’ adding to Scotland’s 13 other planned hubs across the country.
Once the project is operational, it will suck up 500,000 litres a day from the Spey.
An Olympic-size swimming pool typically holds five times that capacity at 2.5 million litres.
Innes Community Council member Jim Mackie has fished the Spey for over 65 years, and disputes Storegga’s claim there will be no impact on the river flow.
Mr Mackie said: “All the calculations on the river flow are averages, they are not looking at the critical times when its low water levels during the summer.
“[The borehole] will impact the water levels on the Spey.”
He stresses the added concerns of climate change, which increases water temperatures.
This in combination with falling Spey water levels could make it much harder for aquatic life to thrive in the river.
“There’s a lot more possible environmental impacts that the developers, SEPA and the council appear to be ignoring,” he added.
Storegga has also stated that an undisclosed amount of processed waste water will be dumped back into the Spey.
Storegga’s research says this will amount to less than a 0.1% change in river water quality, and therefore is “not considered to be significant.”
Scottish Water says it has no objections to the plant.
