Residents’ shock over battery park plans for picturesque crofting area in Brora
Shocked residents of a picturesque East Sutherland crofting area are gearing up to fight plans for a ‘horrendous’ industrial development on their doorstep.
Opdenergy is proposing to build a 49.9MW battery energy storage system (BESS) on 1.5 hectares of crofting land north of Clynelish Muir, on the outskirts of Brora. The battery park would be located just 50 metres from a neighbouring croft.
There is no home on the land in question which is currently used to graze horses.
A number of local residents, who first learned of the plan from leaflets sent to their doors by the developer this week, are holding a meeting tonight to discuss the plan ahead of a consultation exercise set to be held by the developer on Tuesday, August 20.
The proposal has been described as “horrendous” by one resident while another, who asked not to be named at this stage, said: “This has come completely out of the blue and some of us are completely shocked and upset about it.
“We live in a beautiful crofting area which is not an appropriate location for an industrial development like this.
“This is just another example of the creeping industrialisation of the Northern Highlands which are being buried under wind farms, electricity pylons and now battery parks. And all to export energy to the south.
“Our elected representatives had better sit up and take notice because we are not going to put up with this any longer. If Opdenergy thinks they can get away with this, they can think again- they have a fight on their hands.”
The objector added: “We don’t feel that the developer has explored all the opportunities available locally to keep this in an industrial context.”
Battery energy storage systems consist of shipping-like containers that store energy from renewable sources, such as solar and wind farms, and release it when it is needed most.
Planning applications for BESSs are beginning to flood into Highland Council with three applications for battery storage parks at Gills Bay, Thurso and Garve due to be discussed at the August 7 meeting of the North Planning Applications Committee.
The Clynelish Muir BESS, which is at a pre-planning stage, would consist of around 13 battery containers mounted on concrete pads and with ancillary infrastructure. It would be connected by underground cable to the existing 132kV substation, 0.6km to the east.
A new vehicular access is proposed from the Moss Road with a new driveway along the eastern boundary.
Opdenergy says it is an “international group specialising in energy assets production”.
It says the Clynelish Muir site was chosen because “there is a need and free capacity to allow this amount of battery storage connection to the grid in this area”.
The company states: “This facility will be a small part of the climate change solution contributing to the UK government’s target of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050.”
But concerned residents say it will have a negative impact on the surrounding landscape and affect the value of their homes. They are also concerned about noise pollution, as battery parks are known to emit a persistent “hum”, and the risk of fire from the batteries - particularly if they are lithium.
The developers are holding a drop-in consultation event at Brora Village Hub on Tuesday, August 20 from 2pm-6pm.
A spokesperson said: “Members of the public will be able to ask representatives of the project team any questions they may have about the proposed development.
A second consultation event will take place later in the year.
A website has been set up for the development and can be accessed at: https://clynelishbess.co.uk
